


To Have and To Hold

by JudoAly



Series: The Definition of Consent [4]
Category: Grey's Anatomy, Station 19 (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-01
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2020-12-31 17:07:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 52,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21149222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JudoAly/pseuds/JudoAly
Summary: The day of the wedding has arrived but tragedy strikes and it's up the the teams of Station 19 and Grey's Anatomy to save the day. Will anyone make it to the wedding alive?MAJOR CROSSOVER event!!Follows the story PR Nightmare.Updates likely twice a week based on my schedule.





	1. Sword vs Gun

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sequel to PR Nightmare which followed Should, Woulda, Coulda and Summer preview.
> 
> Consider this the season finale of my fake season 3 of my fake S19. Brief summary below.
> 
> SWC- Vic and Ripley have a quickie wedding in the hospital when she gets appendicitis. Pruitt dies in the coffee fire instead of Ripley and Ripley warns Sullivan off dating Andy. The PR department cuts a deal with the Ripley's that they will cover-up Pruitts involvement if they agree to do PR for a massive wedding.
> 
> PR Nightmare - Vic gets her own PR rep, Francis, to present a PR perfect story leading to their wedding. The real villian is the opportuistic head of PR Hannah Fitzpatrick. Her machinations almost lead to Vicley breaking up.  
Half the cast of Grey's Anatomy gets tapped to be in the wedding party and craziness ensues. 
> 
> Brief breakdown of characters/relationships below.
> 
> Vicley - still married, made up at the end of PR nightmare after breaking up over Ripley mistakenly sharing they were trying to conceive with the department. Vic is fast tracked to be a paramedic and ideally eventually Medic One to be out of Ripley's chain of command.
> 
> Sullivan/Andy: Had a drunken hookup that continued, broke up over emails about Vic's reproductive plans. Tentatively made up. Sullivan secretly resigning due to spinal problems.
> 
> Jack/Francis: Maya broke up with Jack over him wanting commitment. She facilitated a relationship with the PR rep Francis in December. Francis keeps it quiet and has slowly become one of Vic's staunchest allies.
> 
> Travis/Levi: started dating in October. Broke up until Levi agreed to move out from his mom's house. Vic leaned alot of Travis as the PR pressure increased.
> 
> Ben/Bailey: Ben spent 6 month on aid car mostly with Vic who was supposed to make sure he followed protocol. After a few close calls (and getting yelled at by Bailey), he is graduating to Medic One next week, leaving Station 19.
> 
> Dean/Maggie: Nikki broke up with him for paying too much attention (nonsexually) to his rookie Kat. Maya and Meredith helped connect them in December as they would prefer Maggie not date her step siblings.
> 
> Maya: happily single and was seeing Carina DeLuca and Charlotte Dearborne on occasion. Spent some time on other shifts to avoid Jack. Started a friendship with Meredith.
> 
> Ryan Tanner/Jenna Matson: moved to California, got engaged in November. Andy took it well and didn't leave him a drunken voicemail - because Vic redirected it to Ripley's phone and deleted it later.
> 
> Meredith/Andrew: still together, she acts as den mom for all the relationship drama.
> 
> Owen Hunt: dating status unclear, became a solid friend of Sullivan and Ripley.
> 
> Pruitt: still dead.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vic, Francis, and Sullivan go to the bridal shop to get the dresses and tuxes but an uninvited visitor brings a gun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If active shooter is a trigger, you can go ahead and skip it to the end where I wrote a short summary. This was relatively well researched so some of it is pretty realistic. 
> 
> You may recognize the police officer in charge from somewhere.
> 
> Combustible classes in the United States are  
Class A - wood/plastic - put out with water  
Class B - flammable liquids/glasses - needs dry chemicals like FM-200  
Class C - electrical fire - similar to flammable liquids - can use water once electricity is turned off  
Class D - flammable metals - rare, more dry powder, not chemicals, different than B and C extinguishers  
Class K - cooking oil fires, technically class B, but gets own category

February 14, 2020

Andy texted everyone that windy morning to remind them to pick up the formal wear before breakfast - with a congratulations for Ripley and Vic making up. As per the itinerary, Vic and Sullivan were in their uniforms and Francis was in her regular outfit of SFD polo and khakis. They were tasked to do it because PR guarded the identity of the two wedding dress with a sanctity reserved for the location of Hoffa's body. They had a news crew parked outside to tape their exit while still hiding the actual dress to build 'tension.' Since he had a larger SUV, Sullivan was picking up the men's wear. Vic waved to Sullivan as they separated into their respective directions to opposite sides of the store.

Vic was at the cash register when she heard it. It was loud pop like a firecracker. She stood up tall. That was no firecracker. That was a gunshot.

She knocked Francis to the floor as they heard the window of the store shatter. The sales assistant, Lexie, ducked behind the counter. From the floor Vic looked over at the men's side and saw Sullivan hit the deck as well.

More gunshots.

They were definitely near the front of the strip mall. Vic grabbed Francis and the sales assistant, "Come on. We've got to move. Stay on the ground."

"What do we do?" Francis asked.

"There's an active shooter outside. We're supposed to run if we can. Otherwise hide. If it comes down to it, then we have to fight." She looked at Lexie, "Got door with a lock? Anything?"

"We have the storage room in the back. It's got a pretty solid steel door with a good lock because we keep some pretty expensive costumes in there."

"Excellent, everyone stay in the ground. That way right?" Vic indicated the section opposite the dressing rooms in the back.

Francis asked, "What about the dresses?"

"I want to be alive for my wedding. I can find another dress if I need to. Let's move."

"Captain," she spoke as low as she could, waving to Sullivan. "Follow us. Everyone head this way."

They crouch-ran on the floor together to storage room was across from the large dressing/show area. They managed to collect a total of seven people before she and Sullivan closed the door. Inside the room, there were all sorts of hanging dresses costumes, multiple plastic storage containers, at least one heavy trunk - which Sullivan and Vic used to block the inward swinging door.

There was more gun fire outside the storage room. They could hear glass shattering, and everyone ducked onto the floor as flat as they could.

"Did we leave anyone behind?" Sullivan asked Vic. He seemed to be having some trouble laying on the floor; he was holding his back.

"No one else that I know of. It's pretty early in the morning for more customers."

"Alright," Sullivan said "Everyone silence their phones."

Vic turned off her ringer and started texting 911. "I'm calling for help" she said. _Shots fired at 1500 Eastlake Strip Mall. Barricaded selves in storage closet._ She stood up quickly for a few seconds long enough to confirm it was sent as there was no signal on the floor.

Beside her, Francis pulled out her own phone, texting and turning off the ringer.

* * *

The shooter had come from the parking lot. When the first shots broke out, the patrons of the nearby bakery tried to run outside, only to be mowed down. Four brave baristas at different bakeries blockaded the doors with the 'Valentine's Day special' signs for people catching their Valentine's day brunch. Both bakeries were packed with couples.

Over at the bank, the tellers hit the alarm, automatically locking all of the doors. The lead teller assured their forty customers that the outer door of the bank antechamber was bullet proof and they had a direct line to Seattle PD. As per protocol, they contacted Seattle PD who assured them squad cars were en route.

* * *

Ripley was relaxing at HQ. What a night. Everything was back on track. He was getting (sort of) married. PR had delivered his nicely pressed uniform adorned with every piece of metal he owned to his office. His choice of clothing this morning was his uniform due to PR's request that he wear it for when his camera crew followed the prep of the groomsmen and Man of Honor today in 2 hours. They had helpfully supplied him with an itinerary for his non-honeymoon and a list of clothing he was to wear during it, wardrobe also helpfully supplied by PR.

However, there were somethings on the PR list that were nixed. The show ring was locked in his desk because he was using the real ring today - already in his pocket. Their command not to see Vic before the wedding was also ignored since they spent the night reacquainting themselves with each other. Technically when she blindfold him with his tie this morning, that could have counted as not seeing her. Supposedly seeing the bride before the wedding was bad luck, but he followed that advice the first two times and never turned out well anyway. She'd been peacefully sleeping in bed when he left early to make sure everything was tied up before his wedding and trip.

The wind might be 50 mph outside, but for this Valentine's Day, all he could imagine was smooth sailing.

His phone rang. It was a text message from the shared system with Seattle PD. It looked like there is an active shooter situation in progress. The address looked familiar. 1500 Eastlake Strip Mall.

He remembered why he knew that address. It was the same strip mall that held the bridal shop he'd gone to with Vic that one time. It was a few blocks away from the Astro diner.

Another text came through - sounded like some civilians are trapped. He could hear the distant wail of police sirens. He wasn't on call but maybe he should contact his battalion chiefs, Frankel should be coming off her call. Might as well do some research now.

He pulled up the Google Map of the Eastlake Strip Mall, and his stomach started to sink. To the left (B side) of the bridal shop there was an clothing store, a dollar store, and a bank. Unfortunately to the right (C side), there was an organic cleaning supply store, then the rest of the strip mall included two liquor stores, a durable medical equipment store, two organic bakeries, three organic fertilizer/gardening stores. And beyond the stores on the C side, there were multiple gas stations.

He grabbed his phone and called dispatch "This is Chief Ripley. I need you to get me to the chief of police right now." There was a pause as dispatch recognized the rarity and severity of the request and used the emergency channel to get him Reyes. All municipal PD and FD had one installed after the communications disasters of 9/11. "This is Chief Ripley. I understand you have an active shooter." As he spoke, he started putting on his new turnout jacket from its hanger on the door.

"Yes, he's being chased through the Eastlake Strip Mall. Semi-automatic weapons. Shot a couple people in the parking lot. I think we've got him cornered. One of my most experienced officers, Vera Kristoff is in charge."

"Reyes," he said urgently, "Get ahold of your officer and tell her to pull back from the shooter. Set up a defensive perimeter around wherever he is and send in a negotiator. Get a sniper team. Do not engage him." Ripley could hear gunshots in the background of Reyes's feed.

"Why not?"

"You need to pull back your forces. Your Officer Kristoff probably does not have the situational awareness to realize that the strip mall is highly flammable area. Between the Class A, B, C, and F combustibles at that location from the liquor stores, cleaning supplies, fertilizer shops - there are high winds and the DME store is a particular danger. A single ignition in the vicinity of the DME could transform their the oxygen supply from an inert gas to an extreme accelerant. You have to get your people away from there. If Officer Kristoff doesn't stop firing, she could set off a chain reaction that obliterates a few city blocks."

Reyes took his advice. "Officer Kristoff, you need to disengage." No response. "Officer Kristoff, you are in command. Please respond." More gun shots were audible over the channel. "Vera, please respond. You are in a highly flammable area. Do not fire toward the strip mall. I need you to disengage. Retreat. Retreat!!" Reyes' voice had a note of desperation.

Officer Vera Kristoff's total lack of situational and environmental awareness became evident. There was a loud explosion in the background.

Then there was more panicked shouting over the radio in the background, "He blew himself up in front of the liquor store. He's gone. Kristoff is gone - she's freaking gone. We're sheltering behind our cars, but we need FD back up. The liquor store is burning. It's burning and -"

Twin explosions shook the HQ building, which was less than a mile away. All around the city, he could hear the emergency test system turn, eerily amplified through multiple cell phones, on with even more sirens.

His radio went wild. "Explosion reported at Eastlake Strip Mall, 1500 block."

Ripley asked dispatch to give him an open channel to all of his stations. "This is Chief Ripley. There has been an explosion at the 1500 block of the Eastlake Strip Mall. This is a five alarm fire, I am enacting emergency mass casualty protocols. Stations 6-36 report to the scene now and Battalion 5 will be in reserve. Prepare to arrive and deploy at the perimeter. Do not approach. Situation is highly unstable. Take up defensive positions and blockade anyone else from approaching." The station numbers he called in the announcement would know that he was calling in 4 full battalions - Havner, Frankel, Haskell and O'brien.

More sirens, probably a hundred now. "You must prepare for multiple explosions. Let me repeat - do not approach the area. The environment there is highly volatile with multiple potential incendiaries. All other stations 38-44, you need to be prepared to cover the city and answer all other calls."

Ripley was already down the stairs and in his SUV with the sirens on from the private officer garage in under 20 seconds.

* * *

They heard the footsteps come closer. There's a voice yelling, "Lexie, Lexie are you there? I know you work here. You think I don't know you cheated on me with him."

Assistant Lexie shook her head and whispered, That's my ex-boyfriend, Marcus. We broke up six months ago."

Vic ran over the active shooter protocol. Run. Hide. Fight. "We might need to fight. What have we got?"

Lexie pointed at a full samurai costume in the back with two swords. "Those are real."

Two of the civilians grabbed the swords and passed them up to Vic and Sullivan. Vic quietly commented, "When you bring a sword to a gunfight. . ."

The gun shots were getting closer. Some sounded like they were hitting the outer walls. They could hear loud stomping footfalls. Vic moved to a crouch by the trunk and helped Sullivan get to a similar position.

"Lexie, you think you're hiding?" The voice said. More steps were headed towards them.

He tried his luck at the dressing rooms opposite them first. "Found you!" There was the sound of the viewing room door opening and him laying into with more gunfire.

"Not there, Lexie. I'll find you."

The footsteps were headed towards their door. They heard him try it. Vic and Sullivan both raised their swords.

"Stop! this is Officer Kristoff with the Seattle Police department!" They heard someone yell from further up front.

"Really Lexie? You called the police on me. Can't you see we just need to talk. Oh- fuck it." They could hear him turn around and start firing at the police.

Those footsteps ran toward the door with continued gunshots.

"Hey, Lexie anything that we can pass on to the police that you know about him might be important." Vic suggested.

"He seemed nice when we dated - a little bit jealous. Kind of had some type of conspiracy theory going on sometimes. Little bit of a survivalist vibe which is why we broke up." Lexie said quietly.

"Doesn't sound like he got any better. He's gotten an assault rifle. Is he the type that would get more guns or something more like explosives, grenades maybe?" Sullivan asked.

"He might. I mean - I seriously haven't seen him for 6 months. He used to get all those weird like army catalog surplus stuff."

"So does half the fire department, but let me text that over over okay." Vic started texting and then raised her hand to get a cell signal.

Sullivan thought of something. "Isn't there a liquor store right nearby here? Don't those two organic bakeries advertise Washington's best moonshine?"

* * *

  
When Marcus emerged from the bridal shop, it was apparent that he was more than the Seattle FD had any ability to handle. He had a semi automatic assault rifle and multiple other firearms attached to his belt. He was wearing some type of Kevlar body armor with a bullet proof vest and a combat helmet. He wasn't even phased by the police firing back at him.

Four police cars had pulled up into the fire lane and were situated outside the bridal shop and the cleaning supplies store. With his artillery and his armor, the police firing with their standard issue hand guns were woefully ineffective.

Another police car was blocking the fire lane further down the C side. Officer in charge, Vera Kristoff, climbed out to confront him. She was standing right in front of the nearest liquor store. She had experience but in this she was far out of her depth and had no idea how volatile things were.

She was yelling at him to stop and lay down his weapons. Behind her in the car, her radio was screaming at the officers to disengage.

It didn't matter to Kristoff. She had committed herself to her course the second she got out of her squad car. She pressed forward, no matter how misguided.

The man, Marcus, now in front of the liquor store, turned to face her and took something off his vest. He pulled a pin from a grenade and no one, not even Kristoff had time to react. There was an explosion and a gout of flame, detonating all space in the next 18 feet - which encompassed Officer Kristoff. She disappeared into burning pink mist in an instant.

The strength and sound of the in the blast shoved all the police officers further behind their row of squad cars.

They never got a chance to run - after their last radio message, the liquor store ignited. In rapid succession, the two organic bakeries caught fire - there were another exploding sound from each of them as their kilns for the moonshine busted. One of them was next to the DME store with its supply of oxygen tanks - gone. No one made it out of the bakeries.

At the bank there was a mad stampede to the outer door. They made it to the antechamber and discovered that the security locks had not been disengaged. The press of people and the shatterproof glass made the front door impossible to open. Before anyone could plan any further, there was a crackling sound as the fire whooshed through the long pipe of the shared roofs. The weakly supported roof of the overhead collapsed. No one passed the front door.

* * *

  
The Station 19 and Grey Sloan members of the bridal party were gathering at the Beanery. It seems like a great place to wait until the camera crews came for their all day prep. (Poor Jen wasn't invited because she still refused to participate in as much PR as possible) The outgoing B shift was slightly under strength since a couple people had called off for Valentine's Day so they figured they'd help out a little with morning KP before C shift arrived. Meredith had wanted to bring champagne for mimosas but Andy overruled that. (Save it for the camera crew after Vic arrived for breakfast!)

Other than Bailey being stuck at the hospital, only Vic, Francis, and Sullivan were out getting the bridesmaids dresses, wedding dress x2, and the group tuxes. Between Vic's Jeep and Sullivan's SUV, it had made sense that they could pick up everything. At least that is what he had explained to Andy when he left around midnight.

They were sitting down for a breakfast of Astro bagels when Meredith's phone went off.

"What is it?" Maya asked.

"It says 'turn on the TV.'" Everybody moved to lounge and turned on the TV - someone was filming live the police in the standoff with a gunman. The strip mall was disturbingly familiar as it was the location of the bridal shop.

Owen Hunt surveyed the screen. "Guys. We need to get back to Grey Sloan right now. We're going to have multiple gunshot victims from this. Maybe people trampling each other." They departed on foot with speed that surprised the firefighters. Then again disasters like that happened to them all the time too.

Andy looked at the screen for a little bit longer. "Sullivan and Vic are there."

"And Francis," Jack said, his eyes wide and frightened.

Maya pointed the screen. "Look at what else. There's two liquor stores there."

"Aww, fuck!" Dean exclaimed. "Warren, you got to get out of here. Head over to Medic One- give them a warning. We need to start suiting up right now."

"If a police hit the wrong thing, this could be bad. Very bad." Maya was up and moving to the door.

"Look at all the cars in the parking lot," Andy said. "There's a bunch of around the bank too.

"It's payday." Jack's tone captured the increasingly horrified realizations. "Payday and Valentine's Day."

Everyone stampeded out of the room, and the incoming shifts look confused.

Andy called out, "Everyone get to their stations right now. Suit up, maximum readiness."

"Why?" the incoming C shift lieutenant, Tutko, said.

"There's some type of incident at a strip mall high chance of combustion. Suit up now," Maya commanded- her trousers and turnouts on. "My crew will take the engine. Whoever's here man the aid car and ladder."

About 60 seconds after the words are out of her mouth, there was a loud explosion. 10 seconds later there was another one. And then multiple booms.

"We are leaving now," Maya said "Move!"

"We haven't been called. You don't even know where we're going!" Tutko exclaimed.

"Yes, we do," Andy rattled off the address, "Follow us."

Someone hit their doors to raise ahead of them.

"If you get lost, just drive towards the smoke."

Jack jumped in front next to Maya, his eyes burned holes in his head, with everyone else in the back. "That's not smoke, Maya. Look."

The ground shook with another boom and they could see a firestorm. Actual visible fire in the sky - a real life firestorm.

Other than historical information on firebombings in WW2 or the atomic bombs, no one saw firestorms outside of a wildfire.

Behind them they could hear multiple alarms blare across the cities. They were already halfway there when dispatch called the four battalions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Run, Hide, Fight is the actual active shooter training the military and police department use for civilians.
> 
> The location of the bridal shop is real in Seattle, just not in a strip mall.
> 
> Brief summary - Vic, Sullivan, Francis and 5 civilians are trapped in a wedding storage room in the bridal shop when the sales assistant's -Lexie's - ex boyfriend shows up with a semiautomatic, body armor, and grenades to the Eastlake Strip Mall. He's chased away by the police but blows himself up - killing Officer Vera Kristoff and setting off a chain reaction that creates a firestorm over the strip mall, trapping everyone inside. Can Ripley, Station 19, and the rest of SFD get there in time?


	2. Frying pan vs Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The shoot out is over, but can anyone escape?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is how fire spreads through a strip mall - including the back doors. I looked a little strange at work and the gym doing research.
> 
> The order Ripley gives to the city is similar to the one given in Boston Massachusetts following the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013.

  
Inside the costume room, they could hear the explosions. 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5. The room shook hard with each one and, every time, the temp in the room went up a few degrees. The lights cut out and were replaced by the fire alarm's flashers - with no sound, something must have disrupted that.  
  
Vic met Sullivan's gaze, and they had a whispered conversation. "One of us has to go out and take a look. See if we have any chance of getting out of here."  
  
"You think the shooter still alive?" Sullivan warned. "Might not be safe."  
  
"I'm thinking 'no.'"Vic said.  
  
Sullivan looked upward, "All those liquor stores - they're definitely gone by now. This place is one long hollow steel beam on top. There's going to be a lateral spread."  
  
"All of them?" Vic clamped down the terror. That meant . . . "Strip malls all share a common roof and beam."  
  
"That's right. When the beam gets hot enough in about 10 min, it'll start to buckle, and the ceiling will come down. The front overhangs facades will probably collapse first."  
  
"Which means probably we can't get out the front. What if we move laterally away from the fire?"  
  
"That'll buy us time to find an exit. We maybe have 20-30 minutes at most if we move further away. Just depends how fast it spreads this way. It's only a few stores at best between us and the fire."  
  
"The automatic sprinkler system has certainly failed at this point. I don't think any of these places have big enough retail space for their own." Vic observed.  
  
"Even if it went off, the water falls down would not upwards into these rooms." Sullivan reminded her. "The fire would sidestep it anyway."  
  
"I've got to go check it out," Vic shoved the trunk out of the way.  
  
Sullivan acted like he was going to stand up. "No, you don't. We go on a buddy system Hughes. "  
  
"Not this time sir. The civies need you." The fact he was having trouble moving was left unsaid.  
  
"I'll be fast, if the front is unapproachable, I'll check the back door."  
  
"You know that's usually locked. I don't think a sword is going to open that. The back door would open into a corridor between the two strip malls and is probably a hellzone."  
  
"I know, but we've got to try."  
  
She opened the door far enough to fit out and ran into the oven. The store was rocked by another explosion, knocking down the dresses and tuxes off the walls. There was smoke and heat, more than in the storage room, lit by the flashes of the fire alarm light. One look to the front of the store told her everything she needed to know. The front facade and overhang was on fire, smoldering. But even worse outside, she saw something else. The asphalt was burning. And fire was raining from the sky. This morning when she saw how windy it was, she'd thought nothing of it.  
  
Firestorm - or close enough. It's one of those things that you read about but never really believe you'll see. But with the multiple buildings exploding and the winds was actually building the fire even higher - if Vic remembered correctly there were several gas stations nearby - if they ignited . . .  
  
That meant they had to definitely go to the B side. They couldn't go out the front if it was close to collapse. A quick visual check of the back door showed it was deadbolted. Even if it opened, Sullivan was correct, they would be too close to the fire which was probably roaring down the lateral corridor between the two strip malls. It also meant that no one could come save them. It was hot enough to burn asphalt that burned over 800 degrees. It'd be too unstable for the trucks to approach.  
  
She ran back in. "We got trouble, Captain. It's an actual real life, firestorm out there. With the liquors store, the DME, bakeries, and the gas stations - all of those are going up right now. The front door is blocked by fire. The parking lot and the cars out front are burning. With no protective gear, there's no way we can get out there."  
  
"We can head over to the next clothing store." Sullivan thought out loud. "The further we get away from the explosions, the better. If we stay inside here, we'll eventually cook and burn with everything else. We don't have alot of time before the roof goes."  
  
"Lexie, what store is to the left?" Vic pointed to C side.  
  
"Organic cleaning products. 'Eye Safelee Klean.'" The civilians all had fear brimming in their eyes.  
  
"We've got to be out of here before it goes too. When it goes, it might take the roof down in here." Vic pulled Lexie up. "How do we get into the clothing store?"  
  
"There's a connecting door on the men's wear side," Volunteered the male clerk, George, who had been assisting Sullivan, "Those doors are locked. We have a key somewhere, but I don't know where it is."  
  
"What I wouldn't give for some turnouts and my axe," Vic wished outloud. "The samurai sword isn't going to cut it."  
  
"I think we have turnouts," Lexie said.  
  
"You have turnouts? Fake turnout or real turnouts?" Vic asked.  
  
"Ever since your engagement photos, themed weddings as firefighters are a very popular request right now."  
  
"How many do you have?" Vic was looking around the room.  
  
"Probably a wedding parties worth."  
  
"Just turnouts?" Sullivan asked.  
  
"No, I think we've got boots, helmets and stuff like that. We contacted the fire department months ago, and they said they'd send us over some of their discards."  
  
"So that's where my turnouts went." Vic realized. "Where are they?" Lexie pointed to a nearby box.  
  
Using the light of the flashing fire alarm, they were able to easily find the box of turnouts on the floor. They opened them up quickly, and Vic pulled out turnouts that said 'Ripley and Hughes.' She shoved herself into hers, "No freaking way. These are my actual turnouts, see the velcro pulls from me being lefthanded."  
  
"So these are his?" Sullivan was suiting up in 'Ripley.'  
  
"Yeah, I got all new clothes remember. Which means-" she dumped out another nearby box with boots, gloves, trousers and helmets. And then she saw glorious salvation. "There is my freaking axe!"  
  
Very quickly, they gathered as many pieces as they could so they had turnout jackets and helmets for the other 5 people.  
  
"Listen team. Right now you're going to be firefighters. You each need on one of these - we'll help you button it up. You're going to have to follow us."  
  
Francis piped up, "I found the fire extinguisher."  
  
"You hold that. We got to get out of here before the organic cleaning supplies blows up. We need to have at least another building between us and them. It's going to be hot, its going to be dark, and we have to stay close together." Sullivan explained.  
  
"Unfortunately these turn outs don't have lights on them anymore and helmet lights are burned out. Anything that we can use in here?" Vic asked.  
  
Lexie thought for a second. "I know. Disney wedding." She opened up a box and pulled out those spinning flashlight that people get with the Mickey mouse heads. "Blue okay?"  
  
"Perfect." They shoved a flashlight into the hole where their lights usually went and turned them on - adding blue Mickey flashers to the fire alarm.  
  
They fit boots on their civies and cut apart two of the ladies' dresses to improve their walking. Francis was invaluable as a third pair of hands, buttoning up turnouts. The other three civilians were George from men's wear and Charlie and Reed, a newly engaged couple scoping out their wedding options for Valentine's day.  
  
"Do you have any oxygen, masks or at least things we can use to cover our faces here. Maybe more light?" Vic finished closing one last set of turnouts.  
  
"Actually, yes. Those boxes. All right, I know it's not PC, but bank robbery wedding for bandanas. Working oxygen tanks for scuba weddings and goggles. Ultra strong LED flashlights for night weddings."  
  
There was only one with an oxygen tank, it turned out. Sullivan insisted on carrying it and a flashlight despite his back problems. Vic and Francis fitted everyone with goggles and a bandana over their mouths.  
  
"What I wouldn't kill for my halligan. Why couldn't they have stolen that too?"  
  
"Nothing we can do about it now," Sullivan said. "The axe will out perform the swords."  
  
"Time's up," Vic addressed everyone, backlit by the blue lights. They were scared, she didn't blame them. She was scared too but no way out except forward. "Here's what we're going to do - I'm going to lead. I've got a flashlight and the axe which I'll use to break down the doors between stores if I need to. It's going to be hot; you going to have low visibility. It's going to be scary but follow the light of the person ahead of you. Captain Sullivan will have the rear."  
  
"I'll be behind making sure there are no stragglers." He hefted his flashlight, "And Hughes, I don't care what the department says. I'm putting your recommendation for lieutenant if we get out of this alive."  
  
"Thanks, Captain. We're ready. As ready as we can be."  
  
They opened the door and went into the smoke.

* * *

Ripley arrived at the scene first, having stop in a parking lot across the street from the actual strip mall parking lot. It was a scene from hell. The entire length of the strip mall on the C side could only be described as an inferno. Towering flames shot out of the DME, the two liquor stores, the bakeries, and one of the organic gardening stores. The winds whipped the fire higher, levitating chemicals and burning ash into the sky which fell down onto the burning pavement in a steady drizzle. The cars were burning, undergoing intermittent explosions as their gasoline ignited. The the cleaning supply store hadn't exploded yet, but its roof was visibly on fire. It was a half block distance from the end of the strip mall parking lot to the closest of the 3 nearby gas stations. He could barely make out the ruins of a few police cars in front of the central liquor store and burning a KOMO 4 affiliate news van.  
  
He was left with very limited options. Strip mall fires in the best of circumstances were deathtraps and difficult to fight because each store is its own small compartment with a shared roof on a single beam. Once a fire started, venting all the roofs was essential and most rescues needed to occur within 10 minutes of the start of the fire. Any longer than that, the ceilings were likely to collapse on the rescuers as the single beam would fail, and the ceilings would engulf the RIT teams. After several high-profile deaths of multiple firefighters dying fighting inside one furniture store, the practice had significantly changed to avoid interior attack, even to save lives. Because dead firefighters save no one.  
  
The only slim chance of rescues at this point would be on the B side end since the cleaning supply store was on fire. Just because he couldn't see fire on the bridal shop, the clothing store, the dollar store, or the bank, their roofs were probably on fire too. Thermal imaging wouldn't be as helpful because the heat was shared through the roofs. His teams would have to get through a field of burning cars, melted pavement, and a firestorm to even try to rescue anyone.  
  
As if he got an answer from above, the C side cleaning supply store exploded, and he had to shelter behind his SUV. With a loud crash, all the front facades from the bridal shop to the bank collapsed. That confirmed fire inside all of the roofs. The wind picked up again, pouring that new chemical mix down onto the parking lot, widening the circle of burning cars.  
  
No rescues.  
  
Other FD SUV's were arriving, and he heard fire sirens coming from two different directions. Haskell and Frankel got there first with more staff. Ripley started issuing rapid fire orders.  
  
"All right, we need to wet down everything we can within the surrounding three blocks. Especially anything that is potentially flammable. We can't let the fire spread. We're going to need to try to prevent the fire from getting to the gas stations on C side."  
  
Someone supplied a folding table and a roll of paper for him to start sketching. "Frankel, get your battalion on B side. Haskell, you take C side and turn off all the pumps at the gas station, O'brien's battalion can take the D side - he doesn't need to try to save the D side other strip mall. He can help assist anyone there evacuating. Havner's battalion will work on putting out car fires on A side and send one company to help Haskell protect the gas stations. I need air recon and the field communications unit here now. Get the mobile command unit. I'm depending on you four as the AC's were out of town till tonight's event." Pieces of burning ash landed on his paper, and a waiting staff member brushed it off.  
  
The engine from Station 19 arrived first, and someone jumped out to join the discussion - B shift was ending if he remembered correctly. Thank goodness Vic was at a wedding breakfast or something, one less thing to worry about. Station 12's entire complement arrived next. He could see more engines and ladders arriving, and his staff started directing them to their respective sides.  
  
A rep from PD had arrived, "PD, you need to evacuate everyone within a five block radius right now. Everybody out - stores, restaurants, houses, apartments, condos. A firestorm can easily spread a half mile in any direction - the parking lot's lack of combustibles beyond cars is holding it up for now. Use the field command unit to coordinate with King County Metro for buses to transport evacuees to the nearest community center or school."  
  
"Get the 2.5 inch hose and try from C-side to get as much water as you can on to the roof of the building . We might be able to slow the spread that way from the A combustibles. We need to get some deck guns to hit the liquor stores on the C side to prevent more explosions." He dodged slightly as ash bounced off his helmet. "The strip mall is a total loss. I want to count of how many cars are parked here. Get me an estimate."  
  
"What about rescues?" Herrera yelled, her engine team was hadn't moved yet. Of course A shift skipped the wedding breakfast to respond, Vic was probably grounded by PR at the station unless she'd snuck onto the engine. The rest of her battalion was deploying outside the parking lot on B side.  
  
"There's not going to be any rescues, only recoveries," he said. "We can't get close to deploy RIT, and I can't risk anyone."  
  
"There are people still inside. Our people."  
  
"There are possibly hundreds of people in there. We can't get close enough to rescue anyone. We have a catastrophic building failure and overwhelming fire spread!" Conversation stopped for a second as the final two gardening stores exploded. Flaming debris landed on the roof of the gas station. "Focus on the gas stations! Confirm the pumps turned off!! Pull more units off D side, surround and drown as much as you can!!"  
  
"Sir, you don't understand!" Herrera had full blown terror on her face, framed by the flames in the sky. "It's the Captain and Hughes- Vic- we've got to save them. They were picking up the dresses and the tuxes this morning. His SUV and her Jeep are right there." Herrera pointed to what might have been the burning shape of a cherry red Jeep by the remains of the bridal shop.  
  
The chief became motionless, staring at the fire as his mind computed that information. His faced blanched for a few seconds before re-mastering his emotions. "I can't let you do anything, Herrera," he said. "No one is going to be left alive in five minutes - We can't send anyone in to get them. Can't get close enough to cross the pavement. Even if we could, I can't send teams into a building that's not structurally sound. We're going to lose the roofs on the remaining stores which would crush our RIT teams." He couldn't believe he had to say this outloud. "All we can do is contain the flames now. Our priority is saving the gas stations now, or we lose their underground reservoirs and the next five blocks."  
  
"But sir-"  
  
"**_Haven't you learned anything in the past two years, Herrera. This the price of command. I can't even save my own wife!_**" His battalion chiefs were equally stricken by his words.  
  
"Get to B side and see if you can keep it from jumping across the street to the next parking lot." He ordered her, walling off his own emotions. Ripley couldn't afford to consider anything else. "Deploy our aid cars one block back in the opposite A side parking lot and use it as the evac zone for now."  
  
Someone handed him a hastily written note that listed all the current casualty counts. There was an estimated 800 to 1000 parking spots and over two hundred of them were occupied, primarily at the bakeries and the bank.  
  
There was a buzz of conversation behind him, and he heard Hannah Fitzpatrick speaking to reporters. How had they gotten here so fast after the recent demise of the first news crew?  
  
Then the content of their discussion took hold. Of course Fitzpatrick had the news crew that had been planned to follow him for the wedding. "Yes, this fire is burning out of control, and it's rumored that Victoria Hughes, the bride and best man Richard Sullivan, may be inside."  
  
Ripley stormed over to them. "Turn the camera off!"  
  
"We're here with Chief Ripley who is in command of the scene. Can you give us any updates?" She obviously knew where Sully and Vic were because she had written the itinerary.  
  
"I said 'turn the camera off.'" The camera operator opted to cut that off right then.  
  
"Fitzpatrick, get out of here right now! It is not safe. I don't know how you got in the perimeter, but you need to get out now. Do not mention my wife again." He was shouting at her, "We've lost at least 10 police officers and 50 civilians so far! We've got at over 20 people with burns or gunshot wounds. This is a mass casualty incident. I need you to leave right now. This is a firestorm and an evacuation. You've already lost one camera crew to the firestorm; don't lose two."  
  
He thought for a minute. "Turn the camera back on." He addressed the camera directly, his image now taking over every emergency broadcast in the city. "This is Chief Ripley of the Seattle Fire department. We are initiating emergency city lockdown. There has been a bombing at the Eastlake Strip Mall which has led to a dangerous explosion and firestorm conditions. There is severe risk of fire spreading from the firestorm, and we cannot have additional dangers. Unless you are in the five block evacuation zone, our civilians are to stay at home within their own homes. Do not leave your residence. Only emergency personnel and law enforcement are to be on the roads. All public transportation is suspended, including King Country Metro, Sound Transit, and all the ferries. As of this moment, the city of Seattle is a no-fly zone beyond aerial firefighting apparatus. The police department is going to locate and determine if there are any additional perpetrators or threat of additional explosions. Please stay at home and shelter in place. The Seattle Fire department will be out in strength monitoring each neighborhood for additional fires. There are currently 4 battalions deployed around the firestorm and the additional battalion is patrolling the city. Let me repeat - do not leave your homes. We will contact you when the lockdown can be lifted."

* * *

  
When they opened the door, the heat was intense. The front facade had collapsed and fire from the ceiling vents had set a row of dresses on fire, lightening the room against the flashes of the fire alarm. A veil of smoke covered the ceiling, but they were still able to walk. There was a dull rumble on the C side door, hopefully if the cleaning supply place went, they could have the dressing rooms to hold up the ceiling. There was the faint hum of sirens, but it was by no means close.  
  
Vic led the group straight across to the men's side in the back aisle and found the connecting door. It was hilariously unlocked, opening inward easily, and they were able to move quickly into the clothing store. One down, two to go. She counted out the five civilians and Sullivan was last through the door.  
  
"Help, me close this. The ceiling is coming down in the bridal store." Sullivan warned. Vic hadn't expected him to need her help for this, but she pushed the door closed with all her might. There was a loud rumble and a crashing noise. Sullivan's face was pained, backlit by the flashing blue flashlights. "Back to point."  
  
The clothing store wasn't open yet so there weren't any lights, and there was thickening smoke coming from the overhead vents. Visibility was dropping rapidly. After a few minutes of walking, Vic bumped into the wall she felt around and found the outline of the door, she couldn't feel the hinges so that meant it swung outward and into the next store. She tried the handle but it was stuck. "Captain, door!" she yelled through her bandana. "I would kill for the irons right now. Stand back!" It took her three blows with the axe over the frame to loosen it. She tried a front kick to open the door, it only twitched a little.  
  
"Together!" Sullivan ran up beside her, handing George his flashlight. Vic counted to three, and they kicked the door as one.  
  
"Come on!" Vic waved everyone by her, "Counting 1-2-3-4-5, captain," before she ran through the door herself and pulled it closed behind them. Within 30 seconds, they heard the ceiling collapse behind them.  
  
The two firefighters shared a brief despairing look. Two ceilings in a short time. How long could the dollar store hold up?  
  
She checked the A side front doors. No visibility except flames since the front facade was gone. That wasn't going to be an exit.  
  
Between the smoke and the dark shadowy aisles, it was very fortunate for the flashing blue lights. Sullivan did a quick head count. 5 civilians and two firefighters. Vic could see him slightly better since he was wearing Ripley's white fire chief helmet. Everyone else had the regular black helmets. The department must not have felt it was important to donate any lieutenant helmets.  
  
"We need to keep moving. We've only got one more place across until we closest to the outside. They have the best chance of controlling the fire on that end." Vic said loudly.  
  
He coughed and agreed, "Yes. There no gas stations on this end."  
  
"We still need to hurry. I want you guys to each put a hand on the person in front of you. There's usually a bunch of aisles and will be easy to get lost. Call out you names." Vic instructed.  
  
"Reed, Francis, Charles, George, Lexie."  
  
"Okay, Vic, keep on."  
  
Navigating in the dark was certainly a challenge. Even with her flashlight, she kept bumping into endcaps and aisles. The ceiling continue to creak and crack overhead. She was sweating like crazy, but all she could taste was ash despite the makeshift mask. She couldn't hear the shuffling feet are the civilians behind who had to be struggling to walk in those boots. Occasional extra illumination was provided by showers of sparks on and off through the ceiling vents, serving only as a reminder of how imminent the ceiling collapse would be.  
  
There's a brief patch of light as the coloring books sections was burning - probably because the candles in the matches were stacked next to it and near a vent. They made it to the kitchen section where the outer door was.  
  
Vic bet that this door to would probably open outward. She couldn't feel the hinges so that was a good sign. Unfortunately it would open into the bank which probably had a bit stronger of a lock than the past one. She gave Reed her flashlight.  
  
"Captain." She said after she tried to lock a couple times with Reed aiming the flashlight at the door. "I can't break through this one. It won't budge. We need a crowbar or something."  
  
George spoke up. "Don't they usually have crowbars and hammers in hardware? It's probably only one or two aisles back."  
  
"I'll take George with the flashlight. Francis, we're going to need you to blast anything with the fire extinguisher if it starts to get close to our exit. If those burning books spread towards the cleaning chemicals, we'll be in big trouble."  
  
"Okay, sir. See you soon. I'm going to keep trying the door. It'll help you find your way back." Vic kept pounding away at the lock on the door. A minute or two later, she heard Francis yell. A bookcase fell over right next to the cleaning supplies. Francis didn't wait. Vic felt a small surge of tired pride as Francis pulled the pin on the fire extinguisher and put out the flames closest to the cleaning supplies.  
  
"And it's out - empty." Francis was referring to the fire extinguisher.  
  
"Captain, we need your help now sir!" Vic yelled. She continued to bang at the door.  
  
Out of the smoke emerged George and the captain. Sullivan's limp was even more pronounced. They had brought two crowbars, a sledge likely made of rubber, and a hammer.  
  
They inserted the crowbar and hammers into the door jam and Vic started hitting it with the flat edge of the axe. It wasn't as good as a halligan but at least it helped pry open the door.  
  
It finally sprung partway open - not quite enough for a person to fit through.  
  
Sullivan picked up the sledge and slammed it as hard as he could into the door. Vic followed him, swinging left-handed and finally the door bent in toward to the bank.  
  
She glanced back and saw the flames getting closer to the heat cleaning supplies. "Door!" She screamed "Door right now! Run!"  
  
"Captain," she yelled. As he passed. "1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5. That's everyone." She jumped through the door, spun around, and pushed all of her weight against it trying to close it behind them. She felt another explosion shake the door and push her backward. If she could keep the door closed, it would slow the spread. There wasn't anything she could do about the roof, but this was a steel reinforced door stronger than the others. It take a lot to melt or burn it.  
  
"Hughes!" She heard Sullivan call. She turned around and saw the captain with two of the five civilians pulling a bank table towards the door. "Move!" Sullivan yelled. "Get out of the way!"  
  
They blocked the door, and Vic started looking around for the next option for getting out of the building. There was a sudden rush of smoke and heat as the dollar store must have lost its roof.  
  
As with the other stores, the front was still burning with some dark things on the floor by the front door. She could see sections of the ceiling starting to melt. She estimated was 150 degrees outside same temperature of a really really hot bath. Not quite boiling but getting closer. Their turnouts were made to protect against 500°. But their lungs weren't and it took her back to being trapped by the ethanol fire.  
  
"We've got to find the outer door. Probably parallel to this one. Form up again. Everyone line backup." Vic took charge. This time Charles and George had the crowbars, Reed and Lexie had flashlights, Francis had the empty fire extinguisher, and Sullivan was still carrying oxygen. They walked across the room together, passing computers and executive desks, shapes slightly visible in the smoke. But the smoke was getting thicker.  
  
"Get down for better visibility," She dropped onto her hands and knees and started to crawl. She could feel the person behind her follow suit.  
  
After what felt like an eternity, she reached the wall. Reed shined her flashlight on it and searched for the edges. She found them. No hinges. So it to must open outward, as expected as an exterior door. Now just to get out.  
  
Vic stood up and hit the door frame with the axe. Nothing. She felt around it, and her stomach chopped dropped. Not only was it a steel reinforced door, it also had a reinforced steel frame, not unanticipated for a bank. That meant multiple bolts, and she wouldn't be able to just pry away from the door frame.  
  
"Captain. Here."  
  
He came over to test the door. They tried to pry the crowbars and hammers against the frame. All that did was broke the crowbars and hammers, and she hit them with the flat head of her axe. They tried kicking the door. Nothing happened. She extended her hand to Francis and took the fire extinguisher and even tried to hit the door with that.

Nothing.  
  
She dropped down to the ground. The smoke was so thick, and the room was getting hotter and darker by the second. Without oxygen, it was getting harder to breath so Sullivan ordered everyone to lay on the floor together.  
  
Vic reminded everyone that their turnout were protective up to 500 degrees. She didn't mention that humans couldn't survive that heat.  
  
She spoke in a low voice to Sullivan. "No one is coming, are they?" The faint sound of the sirens was barely audible, never coming any closer.  
  
Sullivan shook his head. "He can't send anyone. It's not safe." 'He' could only mean Ripley.  
  
"We've gotten this far. There's got to be something." Vic voiced.  
  
"We can't break down the door. Nothing here is heavy enough. The walls are keeping all the heat in, and the roof is on fire. We'll either suffocate or the ceiling collapse will kill us. I think it will be the ceiling first."  
  
"That would get rid of the hot air." Vic said. "What if we hide under the desks over here by this reinforced wall? There won't be much left to burn after that vents the room, and hopefully these desks will protect us from the impact, particularly if they are close together. We can try to use oxygen between us all."  
  
Sullivan considered it for a long time."Fine," he said at last. "We've got to collect the desks right now."  
  
"You can't do it, sir. You can barely move. I'll go get the desks. You're in no condition to do that. Stay with them; keep them alive. It's gotta be me."  
  
"It's not safe. You'll be standing in the smoke with no oxygen. No visibility."  
  
"It's our only chance." Vic said quietly.  
  
Sullivan cursed, "That's suicide."

"Doing nothing is suicide. I have to try."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Technically speaking this isn't a firestorm because it didn't create its own wind system. Ripley's defense of the gas stations is correct, the vapors near the pumps could lead to ignition.
> 
> Firefighters rarely enter strip malls because of the huge danger. Ripley's mental discussion about the furniture store is actually true.
> 
> The way Vic is breaking through the doors is how firefighters use their axes.


	3. Truck vs Wall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The survivors are trapped in the bank. Will someone have to sacrifice themselves to save everyone?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do not try this a home folks. 
> 
> There is intense debate on survivalist web sites if you should hide under a desk or next to it if the roof is collapsing. You are definitely supposed to stay by the outer reinforced wall and since everyone is wearing helmets, our fire team is using the Red Cross approved method vs the merely theoretical 'Triangle of Life.'

Herrera ran back to her waiting team and turned on the radio. "He says there's no rescues. That everyone in the building is already dead." She stared at the smoke while Maya drove toward the B side.

There was a loud noise, and the roof of the bridal shop crumbled inward. The team looked out with grim faces. Gibson opened his mouth twice and shut it, his face a mask of mourning.

Montgomery watched the plume of flame overtake the innards of the bridal shop, "With no gear or oxygen . . ."  
  
Jack's phone started playing the chorus of 'My Girl' by the Temptations. His color rapidly changed. "I have to get that."  
  
"You're kidding, right?" Maya growled at him.  
  
Suddenly animated, Jack fished the phone out of an inner pocket and yelled urgently. "_You don't understand! That's Francis's ringtone! It's on her calls and texts!_"  
  
He whipped out the phone and started reading his texts. "It's a starts about the gunfire. Trapped, hiding. Can hear explosions." He got very excited. "It says they found turnouts! And oxygen. It says seven of them going to try to cross to the side with the bank."  
  
Dean said, "They must still be moving. It dumped all the text messages as soon as it found a way to send a signal. They must not have had any signal when they were hunkered down hiding. They were out of the bridal shop when it fell! Call it in!"  
  
Before anyone could speak, they watched the roof of the clothing store collapse. When Andy didn't react, Maya took over the radio, "Chief, Bishop here. We got contact from the people inside! They say they have turnouts and they're on the move going to B side. Permission for rescue."  
  
"Where'd you get that information?" They could hear Ripley yelled off to the side, "Get me blueprints of this strip mall!"  
  
"We got a text message from the PR representative, Francis Smith. They have to be somewhere where her phone was still working."  
  
"Or they just died in that clothing store. I can't risk anyone going in and getting that close, Bishop."  
  
"Can we at least try to cut them an exit corridor? They might still be alive. Please sir?"  
  
Everyone could hear him sigh, "You have my permission to try. But I do not want you to attempt to enter the building. The roof is too unstable, and you'd have to cross an impassible parking lot. Have I made myself clear on that, Bishop?"  
  
"You have, sir. You heard him! Start trying to put out the fire on this pavement!" She commanded the other stations to start laying down water on the burning asphalt.  
  
The other companies managed to control the fires part way across the parking lot with their deck gun, but building access was blocked by multiple burning cars closer in. Minutes passed without significant progress. They parked the engine and got out to observe, dodging floating ash.

Andy was staring at the dollar store; the flames started to consume the roof as it slowly folded downward and disappeared into flames. The high winds kept building the smoke higher and mixed it with recurrent shower of flaming debris. Vic was inside. Robert was inside. They might already be dead. She hung her head, powerless to change a thing.  
  
"We can't get close enough, Lieutenant," Dean reported, both furious and frustrated. "Not unless we can move those cars."  
  
Maya assessed the four rows of cars between the bank and the engine "I don't think we can bump enough of them out of the way before our tires melt."  
  
The radio crackled "This is Ripley. If they are still alive and moving, they will probably use the interior doors between the units. They are most likely to try to exit out the B side exterior door from the bank if they can. The fire is continuing to spread, and thermal imaging confirms rising temperatures in the bank roof. We expect the roof to fall in next. I've called in air support but it will be at least 30 min before they arrive and they are more likely to collapse the last roof."  
  
"I don't think the bank roof has 30 minutes anyway. We're going to try to contact them." Maya announced.  
  
Bleakly, Jack tried to raise Francis, but no one answered. He sent her a text message. "I'm telling her that we're blocked by cars and need her position." Finally his phone played 'My Girl' again.  
  
_Bank stuck hot garage_. Jack read. "Ideas?"  
  
Dean knew this one, "They made it to the bank and can't get out. Just like when you guys got trapped in the garage. Vic has to be alive; she's the only one who would know that!"  
  
"The outer door is probably reinforced steel and with the heat and the security locks down, they can't get it open." Maya turned on her radio. "We believe Francis Smith's group might be at the bank with Hughes. They can't get out."  
  
The radio burst with a stream of loud expletives. After he recovered, Ripley asked, "Do you think you can reach them?"  
  
Maya answered him, "Not with this equipment. We need some wreckers to move cars just to get close to the building. Battering ram to break down the door, C side of the bank is near collapse."  
  
Travis ran over and pointed across the street. "Remember the ethanol fire?"  
  
"Sir," Maya got animated, "Need permission to think outside the box."  
  
The team heard Ripley swear again over the radio. "Let me know what you come up with, Bishop."  
  
Maya started yelling, "Gibson, you and Travis head to that armored car and hotwire it. You grew up in juvie and foster care, I know you can. Bring it over here." They took off on a run to the parking lot section across the street where the bank's four armored cars were parked.  
  
"Okay team, we're gonna hose off the armor and use it to push a path through the cars. We'll follow right behind in the engine. The armored car should be able to punch through the wall."  
  
"We've got to be careful. We can't communicate with them, and we could crush them." Dean warned.  
  
"If we don't do it, they're dead anyway." Maya protested. "Where do you think they're most likely to be?"  
  
"Captain will probably keep trying the door. Try to disable the lock. Won't be near the front because of the fire." Andy answered this time, starting to come out of her paralysis, now that she could believe they had a chance.  
  
"So they'll be towards the back, near the door and on exterior wall to minimize the roof collapse and low on the ground trying not to suffocate." Maya guessed.  
  
Travis and Gibson arrived in the armored truck. Maya ordered. "Hose it off to protect the driver, siphon off some of the gas so it doesn't ignite."  
  
Andy moved determinedly toward it. "I'm driving."   
  
"No, you aren't," Montgomery stood in front of her. "I am. We'll put blocks on the gas and I'll steer through the cars. I'll roll out before it crashes." He gripped Andy's arm. "You can't do this. Captain wouldn't want you to do it." His face spoke volumes. "Follow in the engine."  
  
Travis was taking a real risk. Rolling out of a speeding car is dangerous as its gravity, current speed, and friction leads to a large amount of force. He was going to have to enter at an angle and then veer left. He would have to land on his back and roll out of the way of the truck. Getting run over would be bad especially considering he was probably going to be landing on burning pavement.  
  
"All right then," Gibson said, "Give him an extra turnout jacket. Make sure his helmet strapped, Dean. Any extra padding we can put on his back and chest will make it safer." As if 'safer' meant anything right now.  
  
Maya turned to Andy, "Are you back with us? Can you take back over so I can be on RIT?" For a second all Andy could see with the smoke billowing out of the roof of the bank, but then Maya's face came back in focus.  
  
"Yes," She started yelling out orders. "You're RIT, Bishop. You're the fastest. Gibson's gonna be your partner. Dean and Kat will man the hoses from the ground to control the fire for RIT to go in. I'm driving, and Travis - when you roll out, stay out of the way. This is could go bad really fast."  
  
"Fast review everyone - we can use the armored car to get to the building and crash through the wall. Engine 19 will be following closely to put get a path for RIT. Everybody else you need to be spraying everything you got at the corridor - every single hose and deck gun that we have pointed at that area for when we bust through."  
  
Andy's last order was aimed at the rest of their battalion's companies. It was now or never.  
  
"Bishop, stop what you doing right now!" Ripley shouted through the radio. Even from that distance away, he could see them wetting down the armored truck.  
  
Andy ran her fingers over the radio from the engine cab, "Sorry, sir. Having trouble hearing your signal. We're thinking outside of the box to go get our people. Over and out."  
  
By their estimation they had 400 feet of distance with 100 feet of cars to clear out by driving directly into floating smoke and flame. Travis would have it the worst because he wouldn't be able to see much beyond the cars before he had to crash into the building. Fortunately coming at an angle give him a better way to get through the rows of burning parked cars. Ideally he would clear the armored truck and be out of the way before the engine got there. He couldn't wear oxygen because its his landing on the pavement would almost certainly puncture it, thus leading to a possible explosion.  
  
"Everyone ready?" Andy asked one last time.  
  
"Ready," Travis said. He was strapped in and all he had to do was release his seatbelt and open the door.  
  
"Copy. Let's go. Travis, we'll give you a shove to get you started."  
  
"I'm going to send Francis one last text message. Hopefully she's checking." Jack said. Everyone fixed their oxygen mask in place.  
  
_Coming4u_  
  
Herrera gunned the rig's engine and drove a few feet forward which bumped the armored truck forward. Travis stuck a block over the gas and one under the brake. He simply crashed through the first row cars, knocking them out of the way left and right. There was a twist of metal, and he hit the second row. Despite the collisions, the armored truck was much heavier than everything around it which was like riding in a tank. The weight and the armor of the truck had no difficulty shoving and crumpling the smaller lighter vehicles. It continued to pick up speed despite the friction.  
  
The same cannot be said for when it was going to hit the stationary object of the bank wall.  
  
Third row.  
  
Fourth row.  
  
Now he was close to the fire, red was flashing around him. Debris was falling from above.  
  
Smoke. Fire.  
  
The loss of speed as the tires started to melt was negligible because it was a one-way trip.  
  
He reached the open fire lane. 30 feet . . . 20 feet. . . He grabbed the steering wheel with both hands and threw his entire weight into a sharp left turn. Then he unsnapped his belt, flung open the door, and propelled himself backwards to land on his back  
  
The truck jostled wildly with the loss of his mass on the steering wheel, but it was already in 45 degree left turn. Travis had enough time to see it disappear into the smoke and seemed to bend before all he saw was dark.  
  
"What the hell are they doing!?" said the chief shouted at his closest battalion chief, Frankel, whose battalion had gone rogue. He assumed he wasn't hallucinating which was completely fucking possible at this point. It looked like Station 19 was going to use armored truck as a battering ram to get through the parking lot to the building. They had already wet it down as much of it as they could and the other units were spraying down the parking lot.  
  
He tried calling Herrera again but she didn't answer this time. The armor started moving with Engine 19 behind it by 50 feet. The armored truck was smashing aside cars and clearing a path to the bank. Next step would be to crash it into the building, Ripley guessed.  
  
This is a terrible, reckless, desperate idea. The armored truck's driver would probably die. Engine 19 could be trapped right next to the building in the middle of the firestorm. The people they were trying to rescue could get crushed.  
  
'Thinking outside the box.' This type of thinking either got you promoted for your balls or fired for your idiocy. Assuming any part of Station 19 A shift lived.

* * *

  
  
The captain wheezily called, "Everyone - listen, we can't get out the door. This room is going to start to get really, hot really fast. Hughes is going to get us some shelter for protection."  
  
In the dim blue flashes, Vic saw their barely restrained terror and their blind trust in her abilities. Sullivan pulled out the oxygen. "Put this on. Hughes, you need to take some deep breaths. Breathe as much as you can for now." The tank lacked a mask and she'd need both hands free to bring the desks so this was their best option, oxygenate her in between trips.  
  
"If you make it, and I don't," Vic said. "Tell him I'm sorry, and I wanted to be there."  
  
"You don't need me to tell him you love him?"  
  
She had a bark of laughter. "He already knows."  
  
Within the pile of civilians, Francis was the closest and she pulled out her phone. it was somehow still working and weakly playing 'You and Me' by Lifehouse.  
  
"Are you seriously going to take my picture right now?""  
  
"No." Francis indicated a new message "It's Jack . . .He's asking for a position! He says they can't reach the building because of the cars."  
  
Vic felt a surge of hope. "Message him 'Bank stuck hot garage'. They'll know what it means.  
  
But time was up, she stood. Even with her scuba goggles on, the smoke was in her nose and mouth. She held her breath because she had to move. The desks were their only chance of survival. Vic focused on the song in her head, only taking small shallow breaths to minimize the smoke.  
  
_I'm a little tea pot,_  
_Short and stout._  
_Here is my handle._  
_Here is my spout._  
  
She moved forward in the dark until she collided something big and heavy toward the back of the bank. Felt like a desk. She shoved the computer off the top of it and started sliding it towards the direction she came from. It was harder than it looked because the heat was making more friction in the carpet.  
  
_When I get all steamed up_  
_Then I shout_  
_Tip me over and _  
_Pour me out._  
  
She finally struck near the exterior wall. Sullivan immediately ordered two civilians under it. She ducked down to his level and he gave her another hit from the scuba tank.  
  
_I'm a little tea pot,_  
_Short and stout._  
_Here is my handle._  
_Here is my spout._  
  
The second desk was even harder. She was dizzy and shaking by the time she arrived. Breathing brought a new release acid ash into her lungs, even when lower and using the oxygen. She probably had enough strength to get one or two more desks. Would that be enough protection when the ceiling came down? Strip mall ceiling materials were relatively light, the roof was hollow, and some of it would have burned up. If nothing else at least it would make their bodies easier to find in one piece.  
  
More oxygen and out for desk number 3.  
  
_When I get all steamed up_  
_Then I shout_  
_Tip me over and _  
_Pour me out._  
  
She ran into the wall of the teller's offices when she got disoriented and moved in the wrong direction. She staggered back and headed to executive section again. She crashed into it, narrowly missing hitting her head on the desk.  
  
_I'm a little tea pot,_  
_Short and stout._  
  
She hefted the desk, and it moved slowly towards the wall.  
  
_Here is my handle._  
  
So slow.  
  
_Here is my spout._  
  
Getting closer to the wall.  
  
_When I get all steamed up then I shout_  
_Tip me over and_

  
A desk came into view, but there was no Vic. Sullivan caught hold of it with his numb hands from his knees and pulled it forward.  
  
"Hughes!" he sputtered into the smoke.  
  
He could barely see a foot ahead of him. He couldn't see her. Did he leave the civilians to search for her? Would he be able to move or even walk?  
  
Someone else had no such reservations. "Vic!" Francis stood out from behind the desk and, heedless of the danger, ran into the smoky darkness.  
  
"Stop!" Sullivan tried to call her back. He tiredly rolled onto all fours. His right leg was tingling a lot.  
  
Frances re-materialized, dragging Vic to the desks. She felt for a pulse and looked for breathing. "Captain, she's not breathing!"  
  
No Vic. No help. Paralyzed. Suffocating in a hot box.  
  
"Captain!" Francis was trying to get his attention on the floor next to Vic.  
  
"She's dead, Francis. No one is coming to save us." his defeated voice was difficult to hear over the increasing crackling flames above them.  
  
"NO!" Francis punched him in the chest, shaking him by the turnouts. "She's not dead yet. I've been with Station 19 six months; you never give up. They are coming." She put her hands on Vic's chest and started CPR.  
  
That pulled him out of his blue screen of death. He crawled over and brought the oxygen with him. He gave himself two breaths of oxygen and then put his mouth on Vic's to give her 2 rescue breaths. "Switch, I'm stronger than you."  
  
Sullivan took over chest compressions as Francis breathed for Vic. Then they heard the odd sound of 'You and Me', again. Francis found her phone, faintly playing music again. "Jack says they're coming!"  
  
He thought quickly. They were probably doing something crazy and desperate. His lieutenants would come up with something insane and risky, and explosive.  
  
"Get her under the desk, next to the wall, and keep the oxygen on her." He could hear something happening outside, crashing or more explosions. "You too, Francis, under the desk, now!"  
  
Despite his numb legs, he helped manhandle Vic under the desk. He covered Vic and Francis with his body and waited.

* * *

The fire engine came to a halt about 20 feet from the building. There was still a rain of smoke and debris coming down, but far less than on C side. Andy started yelling at orders. "Maya, Jack get on the rescues. Dean, Kat pull out the red line and put out the fire by the door. Keep hitting it to keep their pathway clear." The red line was using the engines internal water reserve. "Keep an eye out for Montgomery."  
  
The armor had knocked the bank door off its hinges and created an approximately 4 foot opening from door and the wall. Smoke was billowing out, but the armored truck seemed to be partially supporting the roof as the C side with was burning merrily.  
  
Maya and Jack ran in and did their best guess by turning to the left towards the D side. They bumped into something hard and on the floor, they found some people in helmets and turnout jacket wearing strange blue lights. The smoke was really thick and the room extremely hot.  
  
"Found them! Alive!" Maya yelled. "Looks like they're under desks. Come on!" She got two of the people standing who were wearing bandanas and goggles over their faces. She managed to shove them out towards the door where visibility was better.  
  
They had clearly suffered from smoke inhalation; she could see that even through her oxygen mask. The lack of visibility and heat made it difficult to move. Jack and Maya flipped the next desk by working together and found two more people. Then from the smoke Francis came; she grabbed Maya's arm and dragged her in toward the back.  
  
She pointed where Maya found, in darkness broken by a flashing blue light, Sullivan covering Vic. He was holding some type of oxygen on Vic who was clearly unconscious. Francis was frantically trying to move Sullivan off of Vic.  
  
Maya help shifted Sullivan off Vic. Francis started doing chest compressions, heedless of the smoke.  
  
"Oh shit," Maya exclaimed. She turned on the radio. "I need Miller and Noonan on RIT right now. We've got to finish doing the rescues, and we're doing CPR on Vic right now."  
  
"You heard her - Miller, Noonan head in and help with rescues. I'll take over the red line. The smoke's getting thicker- you guys don't have a lot of time. I don't know how much more that roof can take." Andy warned Miller and Noonan who traded out with her.  
  
"Jack, get Francis, and everybody else out. If they can walk, get them out the door." Maya ordered.  
  
Gibson managed to get a couple more people on their feet. Maya could sense the regret and determination in Jack as he pulled a protesting Francis off of Vic.  
  
Miller and Noonan arrived, and Maya indicated Vic, having taken over Francis's CPR. They grabbed her together and carried her out.  
  
Maya got out her safety strap and attached it to Sullivan shoulders. Now it was even darker and hotter in here. She started trying to tow him across the floor, but he was dead weight, too heavy with too much debris.  
  
He tried to move, and she could hear him something say something that sounded like "Leave me."  
  
"I'm not leaving, my captain!" she said, but she knew that she couldn't pull him by herself. Everyone else was occupied.  
  
A dark turncoated figure with no mask appeared. It was Travis. He waved his arms and each of them took one of Sullivan shoulders and started to pull.  
  
The radio went wild. "_**Get out of there now! Getoutoftherenow!!! All hands evac, evac, evac! EvacEvac!**_" Herrera was screaming. "**_The building is becoming unstable. The roof is completely unstable. It's about to collapse. The beam is going! Evac NOW! Evac! Evac_**!"  
  
Maya and Travis dragged Sullivan out as more rumbling occurred. They made it about ten feet away when the roof did collapse.  
  
"Sorry, guys you're going to need to hang on the back. We need the space on the inside." Andy ordered them.  
  
She dropped the radio back in its slot. She had four barely conscious civilians smashed next to her in the front seat. Francis was in the back alternating with Miller and Kat who were bagging and doing chest compressions on Vic. She assumed that Maya and Travis were huddling Robert on the back of the truck, protecting him from the falling ash.  
  
"We're getting out of here now," she said. "Going to have to go back the way we came. No path forward through this. Call me when everybody is on."  
  
"Battalion 2. Be ready to cover our escape." Andy checked her two mirrors. Yep, still terrible swirling smoke behind her. Visibility was not great, but she had to do it. "Incident command, we have seven civilians. We're leaving, reversing course. We're going to need immediate medical assistance for severe smoke inhalation and multiple victims in critical condition."  
  
"Okay, hang on tight everyone. We might hit stuff." She concentrated and threw the the engine into reverse. She hit the gas and focused on keeping her path straight with eyes on both mirrors. They didn't have a lot of clearance on either side.  
  
But somehow they made it. When she could see the other fire engines closer to her, she came to a halt.  
  
There were seven ambulances waiting for them, most of them with Medic One staff. Ben Warren was in the lead.  
  
Francis was out of the cab and gesturing urgently. Someone was trying to put oxygen on her, and she kept waving them off.  
  
"Need to report," she wheezed. "We've been doing CPR on 28 yo African American female firefighter who went down in the smoke. No known injuries. Smoke."  
  
"Thank you." Ben said. Vic was loaded onto a gurney. He felt for a pulse and saw his team resume CPR. "No intubation, bagging only. She can't be intubated until we get a fiber-optic scope." Some of the more senior Medic One officers moved him out of the way and he acquiesced. They got her into the first aid car and took off sirens on.  
  
Sullivan was pulled off the back into another gurney. Ben ran over to him. Sullivan raised a hand. "Shepherd . . .Link."  
  
It took about a couple seconds to figure out what that meant. "Okay people, he needs to have spinal immobilization - full immobilization. Get me a c-collar; we're going to have to tie him down. Get him on oxygen."  
  
Frankel's voice crackled over the radio. "Engine 19, you are officially off rotation now. Get yourself to the hospital right now for med checks at a minimum. The rest of the battalion can cover B side."  
  
"What is the condition of the civilians?" Ripley's voice cut in.  
  
Andy responded. "We got her out - she's in the first ambulance. You need to get to Grey Sloan."  
  
The other 5 ambulances started loading everyone else. Jack went with Francis, and Dean got Travis with a civilian. Kat, Andy, and Maya divided themselves among the rest of the civilians who were on oxygen.

* * *

  
Ripley saw the aid cars pull away from the B side of the strip mall. He stared at them for a few second. He shook himself and turned back towards the strip mall. Things were getting into control. The A side battalion had successfully managed to put out over two thirds of the cars and the pavement wasn't burning. C side battalion had successfully defended the gas stations. It appeared they had isolated the fire to the strip mall. The liquor and some of combustibles might continue to burn for hours to days. The other back strip mall was a burned out husk, but it's fortunately had been significantly less populated and none of its clothing stores what particularly incendiary.  
  
Working his way down the strip mall, he would guess that they would probably be able to reach the bakeries and the bank in an hour or so - for recoveries. That was to say nothing about whether or not they would find any remains of the police officers or the news crew that had gotten too close. Losses would be heavy. They were doomed the second Officer Kristoff misread the situation and confronted a suicide bomber by a liquor store.  
  
It was very likely the only survivors from inside the strip mall would be whoever made it from the bridal shop. Would that be Vic? Would that be Sully?  
  
Something touched his arm -Frankel and Haskell. It took him a couple seconds to comprehend what she was saying. "Handoff now." Her lips were forming the words. "Handoff. Handoff the scene to us."  
  
"I-" He couldn't put another word together. Luke started tearing at his turnouts, they felt too tight on his chest. A glint of metal caught his eye. His tie clip. He flipped it over. _Chazak, Chazak v'nitchazek- be strong, be strong, and strengthen others_.  
  
"You need to leave here. Get to the hospital. Handoff the scene." Frankel repeated.  
  
"But the fire-" he helplessly indicated the strip mall.  
  
"We've got to let it burning itself out," Haskell said. "Both strip malls are loss, but it's not spreading. You saved the surrounding areas."  
  
"I'm the fire chief - the press - I've got to make a statement. My AC isn't here." More news crews were agitating outside the perimeter. Didn't people listen to a city-wide lock down?  
  
"No, Haskell can do that." Franco said. "I will handle overhaul. Remains identification."  
  
"I will take over the press. I'm not as pretty as you, but I have a boyish charm." Haskell being around forty did have dimples.  
  
Ripley still couldn't move. Haskell waved down a nearby lieutenant. "Alexander, I need you to drive Chief Ripley's SUV to Grey Sloan Memorial."  
  
He tried to shake his head. Adrenaline was draining out of him. "I can't leave. I need to-"  
  
"No. You've done enough," Frankel said. "Haskell will go handle the press over here. Nobody wants to talk to me about it because I'm mean."  
  
"The police chief is coming and needs updates." Ripley remembered.  
  
"I've got that," Haskell said. "They're going to be having a much worse day starting now. They have to search the city and their officer - well, its bad."  
  
His battalion chiefs guided him towards the SUV where that lieutenant was waiting.  
  
"Anything else we need to know?" Frankel asked. " We'll keep focusing on putting out the cars and get close enough to put out the spot fires in the bakeries and bank. We're going switch out teams regularly because once we start finding bodies, we'll need breaks."  
  
"Other shifts, call them in." Ripley croaked.  
  
"Absolutely. Nelson's battalion can't handle the whole city by himself. I'll call in C and D shifts."  
  
"I'll call Tacoma and Mercer Island for mutual aid." Haskell volunteered. "They'll be able to come once the lock down is over."  
  
Frankel adjusted her turnouts. "We have this. We're doing our jobs. Go to your job. Be the husband."  
  
Ripley moved into the SUV. He wrapped his hand in his tie.

_Chazak. Be strong _. . .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smoke inhalation like this is really bad. Hope they can find a world class medical center nearby.
> 
> I had to do tons of very interesting reading about crashing cars into walls and what type of car would do this the best. (The US military has some pretty interesting and ineffective options). Also, this is how 1x9 'Hot box' should have solved their escape problem by crashing the firetruck into the garage rather than building a bomb.
> 
> Hey, Lieutenant Alexander was the guy standing next to Ripley timing the Incinerator back in Season 1, FYI.


	4. Promises made

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The seven survivors make it to the hospital, but the group is going to have to address the severity of their injuries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of the treatment of smoke inhalation listed here is real. If you are wondering why they keep checking their mouths, it's to look for worsening swelling from smoke. That's the mistake April Kepner got fired for originally, hence the name of the protocol.

Barely restrained chaos reigned at Grey Sloan Memorial. Despite the citywide lock down, multiple minor burn patients were arriving by private vehicles and being shunted into the clinic. They were converting a section of one of the lower floors into a morgue in ancitipation for more bodies. All hands were on deck. The staff has been watching the carnage over the television. Members of the bridal party had arrived before the first explosion.

Bailey watched as she saw her husband on TV from a telescopic lens loading people into gurneys and taking off.

The news returned to Chief Ripley's announcement of city lock down, which got repeated every 5 minutes accompanied by the emergency broadcast alarm. Now the TV was showing clip of Hannah Fitzpatrick by a news van stating that the rescues were from the bridal shop and discussing the possibility some of them could be Robert Sullivan and Victoria Hughes.

The interview was cut off by one of the battalion chiefs striding forward and saying, "Thank you, Ms. Fitzpatrick. I'm Battalion Chief Haskell, and I'm in charge of the scene. We do not have any information on that situation or the degree of injuries. We will keep you updated as we get this fire under control. Battalion Chief Franklin is currently overseeing the defensive attack over there."

Bailey waved down Grey and Pierce. "Ladies, Robert Sullivan and Victoria Ripley are in the incoming Medic One aid cars. Whatever has happened is really bad."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because the fire chief isn't the one in front of the camera anymore. Only injury to them would have made him leave the scene. I need you guys to assume there's going to be severe smoke inhalation and unstable airways. Get everything ready for Kepner smoke inhalation protocol."

She received a page on her bat phone and checked it out. "Update," she said. "Get me Shepherd and Link right now. Sounds like Sullivan's having spinal problems too."

She rechecked her messages again. "Pierce, when Victoria was arrives here - I'm putting you in charge. I'll have Altman handle the other ones. Your only job is to save Victoria Ripley. They're enroute, but they're coding her on Medic One."

Everyone waited as they heard the sounds of approaching sirens - a higher pitch than the regular aid cars. Pierce gathered her team of Hunt and DeLuca to assist her. Grey met with Shepherd and Link.

Everyone ran outside the sirens approached. The first medic one car parked, and there was Ben.

"Robert Sullivan, 43 years old suffering from severe smoke inhalation and possible spinal injury. History of fractured spine approximately one year ago. Under care in the past of Dr. Shepherd and Dr. Lincoln. We've immobilize his spine and neck. Currently bagging him with 100% oxygen. No visible burns. Large bore IVs in both anti-cubes."

"I've got him," Meredith said. "Come with me, Warren." She headed off into Trauma 1.

The next set of doors opened and the Medic One team was actively performing CPR on Vic. "28 years old African American female down at the scene with CPR started immediately. Assumed smoke inhalation. We've shocked her three times and given her 3 rounds of epi. She's in v-fib. We having difficulty bagging her."

"Did you try to intubate her?" Maggie asked.

"No. We anticipated diffuse airway edema, and we don't have a fiber-optic scope on board."

"Good thing I do. Trauma 2! Move"

"18 gauge large-bore IVs in both anti-cubes. No visible trauma. No visible burns."

Five more ambulances pulled up. One of them was carrying both Francis and Jack.

Altman and Bailey quickly divided the staff into teams. They put the five civilians in a row and started checking oral airways for smoke inhalation. Travis was examined and sent to x-ray. The other post fire exposure checks could wait.

In Trauma 2, Maggie was calling for suction and had the fiber-optic scope.

"Hold compressions while I intubate." She used the computer screen to visualize Vic's airway. "Suction. Dammit. She's really swollen in here. What happened in there? She doesn't look burned but she's got so much inhalation."

"They got trapped in the bank. Somehow they found turnouts and made it out of the bridal shop." One of the medic's explained. 

"This is bad," Maggie said. "Start bagging her again. Make sure it's on 100% O2. We're not going in until we oxygenate her. I need a 6 instead of a 7." She was referring to endotracheal tube size - requesting a smaller one.

"A 6?" DeLuca asked as he pulled the ET tube.

"Yeah, I know," she said. "It's smaller but with her airway edema; I can't chance it. All right, pull the bag away."

Maggie guided the fiber-optic scope back into Vic's mouth. "Can somebody give me some cricoid pressure?" Deluca provided it. "Thanks. I can barely see her chords. Hunt, I'm going to need to suction right away. Make sure you got the vent ready."

"Here we go." She passed the ET tube through the vocal cords. She pulled the stylet as Hunt handed her the bag. DeLuca put his stethoscope on her chest to check both of her lungs. "Breath sounds in both sides. They don't sound normal though."

"What's her sats right now?"

"Hard to tell with no perfusion," Hunt reminded her.

"Look - heart rates coming back up. She's out of v-fib. The heart muscle must have been twitching because of the hypoxia." DeLuca reported.

"It's at 80%" Hunt said. "Heart rate's running it 55."

"All right. Let's not give her any more CPR. Instead, start giving her some pressors for blood pressure and see if we can keep the heart rate above 50."

"Let's secure that ET tube. I've got it 21 cm at the lip." DeLuca passed her some tape.

"Give her some morphine too. She's alive again so let's make sure this isn't hurting her. She got a lot of CPR."

"O2 sat still 80." Owen repeated.

"I can see that," Pierce said. "Suction around her airway. Let's get a blood gas and labs which need to include carboxyhemoglobin and methemoglobin concentration on top of her cbc, cmp, lactate level, and tox screen. We're beginning the smoke inhalation protocol - aerosolized heparin, N-acetylcysteine followed by albuterol and racemeic epi q 4 hrs, ."

The blood gas was not good. To no one's surprise, it showed respiratory acidosis - that meant was carbon dioxide building up in Vic's blood. Interestingly, she already had a high bicarb which the body uses to buffer respiratory acidosis.

Similarly interesting her hemoglobin and hematocrit (h&h )was also 18/45. That usually isn't possible for a female. She didn't look that volume contracted or dehydrated.

"She's respiratory acidosis. Too much carbon dioxide. Fortunately she seems to be compensating okay right now. We should be happy that we've gotten her lungs up to 80%. We should be able to move her into the ICU for close monitoring. I don't know if her lungs are going to compensate."

Bailey arrived at the bedside. "How are things going?"

"She's intubated, we got a heartbeat back, but I don't know." Maggie said. "She was down for a while. And some of her numbers don't make a lot of sense. They say she's dehydrated, but she shouldn't be. It says that she has long-term suffocation issues, but she doesn't."

"Do you consider her stable right now?" Bailey said.

"We're going to move her right now to the ICU where I can monitor her. We're going to put in an arterial line. I want to do an echo and EKG and get a chest x-ray. I don't feel she stable enough to go down to CT. Why?"

"Because her husband is two minutes away, and I want to be able to tell him whether or not you think his wife is going to die."

"I think that she's a stable as we can expect her to be. I don't know. I don't know what condition her brain, her heart, or her lungs are yet. There's alot of unknwons right now. All I can do is see how she responds to the Kepner smoke inhalation protocol in the next 36 hours."

* * *

Lucas didn't really see landscape race by. Lieutenant whatever his name was was driving. He drove at a solid 75 down the city streets. With Ripley's full city lockdown, there was very little traffic. He caught glimpses on his way to Grey Sloan of Nelson's battalion out patrolling. With the wind gusts and fire in the air, no one was taking any chances. Like the terror of 9/11, the disaster had happened during shift change. He suspected he had twice as much man power his usual as both B and C shifts must have responded.

There would be more soon as they called in D and A shifts too.

The police were also out in force, helping with the evacuation and trying to find more information on the shooter. They're also a second set of eyes for more fires. He could hear chatter back and forth on the radio between PD and FD.

As they approached Grey Sloan, his driver gave him a side glance. "Ambulance bay," Lucas ordered. They passed a large crowd of people outside Grey Sloan. He knew exactly where the ambulance bay was on account of stealing the SUV from there last year.

Before the lieutenant even come to a stop, Lucas was already out, running to the emergency doors. Since he wasn't a patient, no one was waiting for him by the closed doors. He started pounding on them with his arm. He was wearing his turnout so it shouldn't hurt, but it felt good to hit something.

Inside the ER his fists echoed down the hallway. Bailey yelled at one of the residents, "Let the man in before he breaks his hand or the window."

A Hijab-wearing physician hit the switch. He sprinted through them before they were fully opened. Dr. Bailey stopped him before he went any further.

"Chief," she said.

"Chief, I need updates " he said.

"Victoria Ripley is alive" she said. "She's in ICU. Pierce got her heart rate back, she's intubated and suffering from severe smoke inhalation."

"Prognosis?" he knew he was growling but he couldn't help it.

"Unknown. It's too soon. Pierce has her and I promise she is doing everything possible."

"Can I see her?"

"Absolutely." Then Bailey hesitated, "I need to prepare you; she has the most of the year smoke inhalation of the seven people from that building. Sullivan's under observation for smoke inhalation and stabilization of his spine. I have five other civilians down here for observation. They seem to be doing okay, that includes Francis Smith."

"I see." The wheels were turning in his head. There's no way the civilians would have survived without firefighter intervention inside the building. And the only way for Vic have been the worst smoke inhalation - she had to have been the one intervening.

"According to the other rescues, there were Seattle FD turnouts and oxygen in the bridal shop which let them reach the bank until they couldn't open the door. She collapsed pulling desks as shelter to protect them from the impending roof collapse. We believe that she spent a significant amount of time in the smoke without oxygen. Francis and Sullivan performed CPR almost immediately and it was resumed uninterrupted after she was pulled from the building."

"Any other major injuries?" Ripley was operating half husband and half fire chief still.

"The 7 that came out of the bank so far are the only survivors from the inside strip mall. We have a few parking lot gun shot victims and some minor burns from the same area. No one else that was inside the strip mall. The civilians do look good, Travis Montgomery's seems to have a couple broken ribs. We'll keep in here overnight an unofficial capacity for observation. He's already at the ICU with Victoria. Sullivan is having spinal issues and is immobilized until cleared by CT and neurosurgery." She carefully addressed Ripley, "We've prepared extra space for our morgue because it's going to bad, isn't it?"

"It's going to be bad." A text message with the latest presumed casualty count appeared on his phone.

An orderly came up to Chief Bailey and whispered something in her ear. "Are you serious?"

"I'm sorry, Chief," Bailey said, "I have to go deal with the news crews and the fire department spokesperson who just arrived in my ED waiting room."

"I'll help you deal with them," Ripley said. "I ordered the news crews to evacuate the area of the fire. They must have come here. Or at least some of them."

Bailey took a moment to critically examine the Chief's appearance. He was in his smoke-stained turnouts with his white helmet under his arm. His eyes though had something else. It was angry, raw, probably scared. At the same time, she could see him exerting steely control to suppress it. There was a recklessness there - a 'devil may care' determination on his face. She felt a little bad about what was going to come next. 

But not very bad.

Hannah Fitzpatrick had brought the reporters into the waiting room of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. Ripley couldn't believe his ears because she was still talking about the wedding. He could actually hear her say things like, 'The bride and the best man have been severely injured. Such a terrible tragedy for Chief Ripley.'

Who the fuck was she kidding? What she unaware about how many people had died? Vic might have been fighting for her life, but she sure as hell would not want to be a PR sympathy stunt. Chief Bailey tried to grab his arm as she watched him slam through the doors into the waiting room. She was too late.

He made enough noise that Hannah certainly could see him coming, but she remained oblivious to what was about to happen. "Chief Ripley," she gave him, smile dripping with insincere sympathy. "We're so sorry. . ."

Ripley gave the reporters a menacing glance instead. "Ladies and gentlemen of the press. If you would please vacate this hospital waiting room, you're welcome to wait outside of Grey Sloan Memorial. Leave now."

The reporters recognized that this was definitely the time for an exit and were gone so fast you could swear you could see the dust behind them.

"What the hell do you think you're doing bringing them here?" Ripley faced Fitzpatrick.

"Sir, is that wise?" Fitzpatrick asked. "I'm doing my job. I am the spokesperson for Seattle Fire department."

"My wife is not a public figure. This tragedy is not about putting a positive spin on it. As of this moment, you are not a spokesperson from the Seattle Fire department. You are fired. Leave these premises immediately. If we hear a single word out of you from now on or see my name or Vic's in the paper, you will regret it." His voice was deathly quiet.

For once Fitzpatrick was speechless. "But-"

"I said '**YOU ARE FIRED**!'" He roared.

He turned around and stalked back through the doors. He scanned the crowd, facing everyone who must have heard him in the waiting room. All of the civilian rescues were lined up against the wall on oxygen. He walked over to one particular person who was sitting with Jack Gibson.

"Francis, what is the motto of the city of Seattle?" Ripley asked her quickly.

"There is no motto. There's something like the city of Goodwill from the 90s." Francis was mystified.

"What's the motto the state of Washington?"

"Acai acai. It means 'bye bye.' It's not official." Was this a secret and tragic test of character?

"What is the motto of the Seattle Fire department?"

"Here to serve."

"What is the purpose of the Seattle Fire department?"

"To save lives and protect property through emergency medical service, fire, and rescue response and fire prevention." All of this was textbook and emblazoned on the letter head of official SFD documents.

"Good," he said. "As of this moment, you are the new spokesperson for the Seattle Fire department. I've terminated Hannah Fitzpatrick. You are now the head of Seattle FD PR. If you feel you can, provided you have been cleared by your physicians, it would be helpful if you made a statement related to the ongoing medical efforts of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. Also inform the secretarial and security staff that Fitzpatrick is fired and she is to only be on SFD premises with an escort to pick up her personal effects."

"I don't know what to say, sir," Francis said.

"It doesn't matter. Contact Haskell or Frankel get updates on the scene. I'm headed up to the ICU."

He was at the elevator doors before anything else could be said. He punched the button and waited. 

The doors opened and he got in by himself. When they closed, he took one gasping breath somewhere between a cry, a yell and a scream. His shoulders slumped defeated, and he leaned against the wall.

The elevator doors opened back up, and he stood up again.

Bailey must have warned Pierce because she met him at the elevator.

"Victoria's had severe smoke inhalation. We've managed to stabilize her and get her heart rate back. The next 36 hours are going to be critical in terms of airway edema and we'll get a sense of how bad the smoke inhalation has damaged her lungs. We're using mucolytics and bronchodilators to clear the debris out of her lungs. Her stats are not great right now so I want to get her settled and have the first set of treatments completed before you go in. "

"Understood," he answered and stared through the glass at Vic half buried under a mass of equipment. Pierce gave him something. It was Vic's ring. The officers ring - its chain snapped in half.

"There's going to be a lot of waiting sir. I think that I have my co-workers can help you find a place to sleep."

"I'm wide awake," he said.

Owen stepped up. "Come with me for a minute."

Hunt led him down the corridor and up the stairs into a room of mismatched gym equipment, including a heavy bag. Hunt said, "We called this the 'love triangle room.' Dr. Lincoln said that he used to go here and punch the hell out of that bag when he was having issues."

"Have you punched the bag?"

"Yeah, I used to have a fan room, but I moved onto this. You look like you need to punch something." Owen added, "It's terrible. . . being the chief."

"Yes," Ripley agreed.

"I know. I was the chief here for a few years. I had 6 doctors go down on a flight. It was my fault because I hadn't realized that the cheaper air transport company I selected had poor maintenance record for its vehicles. My wife was on that flight."

"What happened to your people?"

Hunt became more glum than usual. "Two died. The pilot was paralyzed for life. One of my doc's got her leg amputated." 

"Your wife?"

"She left me, and we eventually got divorced. But she lived."

"If it weren't for that wedding, she wouldn't have been there. I hadn't agreed to do this for our careers, she wouldn't have been there. Robert wouldn't have been there. I wouldn't have had to have left my wife and best friend die in a firestorm. She may die. Robert may be paralyzed. Likely hundreds of the other people died."

"None of those people will your fault. None of this was your fault. And the wedding was the reason they had those turnouts. The wedding may have saved their lives." Hunt backed away. "I'll leave you with a couple minutes to punch things."

Maya was checking on her team since no one else seemed to be able to do so. Frankel was still at the fire, Travis was camped out in the ICU waiting room with a couple broken ribs. Dean and Kat were monitoring him. Jack was refusing to leave Francis's side even though she'd already been cleared to meet some reporters. Andy had disappeared immediately after their clearance in the ED.

Bishop asked for the location of where they'd moved Sullivan. She lost track of him when they took him to CT. He was on the third floor just outside of ICU - conveniently close to Vic in the ICU.

He was asleep, but he wasn't alone. 

Andy was passed out on the little visitor's couch in Sullivan's room. He was still tied down in multiple directions. He was breathing easily and his oxygen saturations were good.

Maya examined her best friend critically. Who did Andy think she was kidding? It was amazing she managed to keep their relationship to herself, but since Maya and Meredith were the instigators, she wondered once again what exactly happened at the bridal shower.

The fact that Andy hadn't told her the indicated the seriousness of the relationship, but Maya wondered what kind of snarl this was in. Andy was often laser focused on her own problems. One of the reasons she needed to talk about her problems was because she had some questionable decision making skills in her personal life when left to her own devices.

On the other hand, Maya was probably not a good source of advice for monogamy. Dating Jack had been fine, but now the thrill of the chase and getting her self care back with a select group of partners, pressed her buttons in a way Jack hadn't. He was certainly better off with Francis.

Andy woke up, confused, "Captain? Robert?"

"Andy, it's me. He's still out of it." Maya redirected her.

"Oh. I remember now. The Brain and Bones team were in here. They told him that there were no significant changes from his last three exams."

"His last three exams?" Maya asked. "I thought he was going to the hospital for PT."

"He lied. I didn't know." Andy sounded betrayed. "I didn't know he was having problems that needed regular exams. Not that anyone told me."

That was an interesting response, "Was he supposed to share it with you?"

"He should have shared it with us, his lieutenants. If the captain needs extra help, he's supposed to rely on us. We're not a team if there is no trust. . . between a captain and his officers."

* * *

Teddy Altman looked over her smoke inhalation survivors. She had checked their oral airways multiple times for swelling. "All you need to be monitored for at least 36 hours as per Kepner Smoke Inhalation Protocol. It can be either on the floor or here. You going to get chest physiotherapy, regular albuterol, and oxygen."

One of the survivors, Lexie raised her hand, "I need to speak with the police; the shooter was my old boyfriend."

"I will contact them," Teddy nodded. "Anything else I need to know?"

"Will I be able to take breaks to talk to reporters?" Francis asked.

"Fine. I prefer you have a physician with you during that."

"Oh she will." Bailey came up. "We have to meet the press right now together."

Francis, now dressed in much nicer, unburned clothing borrowed from Meredith Grey, walked outside with Bailey to meet with the television reporters.

"I'm Frances Smith, spokesperson for the Seattle FD. And I believe you know my compatriot, Dr. Miranda Bailey, Chief of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital."

"What can you tell us about the explosions and the firestorm at the Eastlake strip mall. Is it true that Chief Ripley's wife to be was shot by the active shooter?"

"Let me give a brief update to clarify the situation. The active shooter may have detonated himself by a liquor store leading to numerous explosions. The exact details of the events leading to the explosion are unclear as the responding police officers, including their commander Officer Kristoff are dead. We do not yet have an accurate count of the number of victims, between the shooting and the fire. Details of the shooting are the business of Seattle Police department which will be released after they locate the shooters home and any possible accomplices. We do not anticipate this information to be available today while the city is on lockdown and the Seattle FD commences overhaul operations. The Seattle Fire department was able to rescue 7 trapped civilians who do not appear to have any gunshot wounds. Some of them are in critical condition at Grey Sloan Memorial. Dr. Bailey?"

"Grey Sloan Memorial is treating numerous victims of the fire. At this time we have reached full hospital capacity, and we're on diversion for all of except the most critical cases. Deceased fire victims are being brought to our morgue where the coroner's office and Grey Sloan are coordinating."

"The death toll from this is going to be severe. So far there are already 50 people and it is likely that as overhaul continues, that number will rise." Francis added.

"Does this mean the wedding is off?" One reporter ask daringly in a misguided attempt for levity.

"All nuptial activities have been postponed at this point. The catered food is being delivered to are various fire stations who are working on this crisis and Grey Sloan for the staff and victims."

"Where is Chief Ripley?" the reporter said. "Why isn't he at the scene?"

Francis remained unfazed. "Now that the primary active fire is out and the fire department is commencing overhaul operations, it is not necessary for Chief Ripley to be present on the scene. We have very excellent battalion chiefs Haskell and Frankel running the scene. I'm in contact with them for further updates as it occurs. As is Chief Ripley."

"So where is the chief?"

"They were numerous firefighter numerous firefighters involved in this dangerous incident were also being treated at Grey Sloan. Ask per his tradition, the chief would be present in the hospital."

"Which firefighters are injured - his fiancee and his best friend?"

Bailey stepped up to the mic. "Are you asking someone to violate HIPAA so that you can run a story? As with all incidents, we do not inform the press of the identities of any victims until we have met and discussed with the families. The families allow us to release the names or if it is necessary for police business or other matters of public record. It's currently meets none of that criteria. So don't ask again."

Francis coughed a couple times. "We appreciate your time. We anticipate having an update within the next two to three hours. We recommend some of your questions be sent to the Seattle Police department, you're active scene questions can be addressed by battalion chiefs Haskell or Frankel." She turned smoothly and returned inside the doors to the ER. When she was passed the door, she started coughing a lot. Jack Gibson had been waiting by the door with oxygen.

He immediately placed it on her and helped Doctor Bailey hustle her back into the curtains.

"Well, that was stupid," Bailey said. "You sure you want to keep talking to them?"

"It's my job." Francis coughed a couple more times. "I need to a new non smoky phone so we can start contacting the caterers."

"You would do no such thing," Bailey said. "I have secretarial staff for that. And so do you. You're the head of PR and the spokesperson now." She waved down a nearby nurse. "We need an albuterol neb right now. Bring over the chest physiotherapy vest too."

"You need to rest," Jack hovered.

"I know," Francis said. "But I need Mara Hightower, too."

"Do I know who that is?" Bailey asked

Jack answered. "She's the Mayor's right hand and her spokesperson."

"I will have someone call her and get her to the hospital."

Bailey left, giving more orders.

Jack tenderly brushed his hand across Francis's hair. "You know your phone saved the day. At some point it sent us your messages. Let us know if you guys were still alive. If it hadn't, we wouldn't have been able to look for you."

"I didn't save us. Vic and Sullivan saved us. And Vic, she. . . she-" Moisture began pooling in Francis's eyes.

Jack responded quickly. "The doctors - I'm sure are doing everything they can."

"Is Vic doing okay in the ICU?"

"As well as can be expected, I guess. Now stop asking questions and do your nebulizer treatment." Francis sat back and he put the mask on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That is how you intubate someone and they actually correctly shocked Vic - you can shock Vtach and Vfib, not asystole or pulseless electrical activity. Nothing drives medical professionals nuts like shocking asystole.
> 
> All of the questions Francis answers about Washington and Seattle are actually true. 
> 
> There were so many Grey's disasters, I am sure they should have a protocol for everything - except escaping fire chiefs with hydrofluoric acid poisoning protocols. 
> 
> One of the actors on Greys showed off his 'love triangle' work out which involved alot of boxing on Instagram last year which is the room Ripley visits.


	5. Promises broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The struggle to save Vic continues as Maggie suggests a last ditch experimental option. 
> 
> Tearjerker warning. May be too intense people who are having 2x15 flashbacks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You should see a certain symmetry in the discussion Ripley is having with Maggie . . .
> 
> The surfactant procedure is real and completely experimental - it may or may not work in smoke inhalation. Everything Karev says about it's use in infants is true, right down to the dosing.
> 
> There was a Jim Bean factory that burned down and it stayed on fire for days, fyi.

  
Chief Bailey reviewed the casualties, and it was not good. As chief she got to monitor the feed from both the police and fire department. There was no good news. The liquor stores were still burning, but they were able to begin overhaul on the bakeries, collecting a rising number of fatalities. They were also going through every car in the parking lot. More bodies were arriving hourly with over a hundred in the makeshift morgue already, and they were more to come. Her head pathologist and city coroner had called for more manpower from Seattle Pres, PacNorth, Tacoma and Mercer Island. They would need help with remains identification and DNA samples.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Grey Sloan already had a protocol for this. It might have been the plane crash. Or it could have been ferry boat crash. The waiting family members were slowly trickling in despite the citywide lock down. They were sent to an open area near the cafeteria and main atrium. Francis Smith had arranged for the catered food previously intended for the wedding to be delivered there. Shellshocked interns were taking DNA swabs of relatives and collecting photos and demographic information for the missing family members. According to the police, it was unlikely they would recover any whole pieces of Officer Kristoff or her team, but they would try.

Francis Smith was giving updates between albuterol treatments with Mara Hightower of the Mayor's office every 2 hours. The four of the five battalion chiefs and the newly arrived Assistant Chief Cordova were tasked with continuing the horrifying job of digging out bodies. While it was still to be determined what the final casualty count would be, preliminary reports indicated it would be over 200.

The police interviewed Lexie, who told them everything she knew about Marcus, her ex boyfriend. They use that information to locate his Facebook page and his address. By hour 6 since the first gunshot, the police had surrounded his home and were waiting for the bomb squad. It took another 6 hours for the bomb squad to successfully remove numerous bomb-making components and clear the house for safety. 15 hours from the 9 a.m. shooting, the city of Seattle was removed from lockdown. At that point the Seattle Fire department had successfully put out the fires in all of the buildings except the liquor stores which would it expected to smolder for another three days.

The moment the lockdown was lifted, Jennifer Ripley drove directly to Station 19 and parked her car there. She went on foot to Grey Sloan Memorial, braving the crowds of people that started gathering there despite the midnight hour. She found her traumatized brother in Vic's room, staring. They embraced, but no matter what he said about being fine, she knew he was a lying liar.

Jennifer knew that she couldn't help much here, but she did commit herself to going back and forth between Station 19 and hospital. She raided A, B, C, and D shifts pantries to make enough food to feed the entire team.

* * *

Pierce checked on Vic's blood gases every 4 hours, and they weren't improving. They made no progress with the respiratory compromise and they had to sedate her because she was fighting the tube more since they switched her to the oscillating ventilator. With no other options, they even tried antibiotics, a dose of steroids and carefully suctioned her airway as much as they dared. It was amazing that she hadn't spiraled into a respiratory acidosis incompatible with life despite the severe smoke damage that kept her oxygen sats at 80%. She shouldn't have been able to compensate quite like this. But there she was.

Still, the carbon dioxide was creeping up, despite her eerie ability to compensate. They had a couple options. They could observe and hope she got better. The oscillator might minimize the barotrauma to the lungs as they healed. It was very possible that she inhaled a significant amount of debris in the smoke which clogged her alveoli and hampered her oxygen exchange. Unfortunately she would need bronchial alveolar lavage which would require them to remove her from the vent to wash her lungs. That could cause bronchospasm and potentially kill her if they deprived her of oxygen for too long.

They also kept having to add pressors because they couldn't keep her heart rate above 50. It would spike occasionally when she tried to struggle before they increased her sedation. Maggie really wondered if there is a piece of the puzzle she was missing.

On the second day of Victoria's hospitalization with no improvement, the answer came from an interesting source.

Ben Warren had stayed at the hospital as the entire A shift was put on leave. Maggie said, "Do you ever have any like medical records or anything on Vic from before this? I feel like I should be seeing something."

"I've got a lot of stuff, including her old cap gases." They were sitting at the ICU desk, near the waiting room.

"Why do you have those?"

"It was for Medic One practice. We learned how to do a lot of quick cap gases on each other."

The Istat machine had 14 blood gases for a 'Victoria R-H.'

"I can also access her regular medical checks. We always write down our vitals then." He went to the computer and logged into the system.

"Look at this," Maggie said. She pointed to Vic's vitals. "In the past three months, she's lost 15 lb. And her heart rate, which I assume is her resting heart rate, is now into the forties."

She loaded Istat results on to her computer and displayed them in a table. "This is strange. At the same time hemoglobin is going up. She should be struggling to maintain her iron stores. That usually doesn't happen to women since they lose blood in their cycles unless you can tell me she's taking erythropoietin or something."

Andy Herrera had been quietly listening, having left Sullivan's room once he woke up and would hide out in the ICU to avoid him without ever entering Vic's room. "Could it be because of the prenatals?"

"What?" Maggie asked.

"Vic . . . she has prenatals in locker. 27 mg of iron." Andy never actually looked at Vic as if seeing her brought back memories of her father.

"She's not pregnant," Maggie said.

"Yeah, but she doesn't have cycles anymore either. She takes depo."

"I think I'm starting to understand a little bit better," Maggie said. "How much is Vic been training?"

Andy's bark of laughter was harsh. "A lot. When she's not studying, she's working out. She'll work out with me on her days off, then Maya and sometimes even Travis for a third time."

"She's been working out that much."

"More in the past few weeks. You saw yourself that Vic needed to let off some steam."

"That would have helped build her hemoglobin and her heart - it's so efficient. I'm not sure how she can handle so much oxidative stress."

"What kind of stress?" Maggie had lost Andy.

"Herrera. We're discussing how long she can go without breathing." Ben clarified.

"Oh, that's easy." Andy gave Ben a grimace that made him remember something he knew very well. "She can go twice the length of almost anybody on the team. I don't know how she regulates her air, but she does."

"Twice as long?"

"Yeah." Ben agreed. "I wasn't thinking about it. She smoked me so many times on training drills that I must have blocked it; it's was tha embarrassing."

"I think I need to talk to Chief Ripley right now." Maggie announced. Andy's face fell and she quietly followed them into the waiting room.

"Hello, chief," Maggie sat down across from him. His sister and Travis were nearby.  
'  
He was definitely hell warmed over. Maggie wasn't sure if he'd even changed his clothes in the past 2 days. He was never more then a couple of doors outside of the ICU, even sleeping in the resident ICU call rooms - Schmitt and DeLuca had found other places to sleep. He was eating because his sister Jennifer kept bringing him food.

"Is it an update on Vic? Please call me Lucas."

Maggie kept her words steady, "I would like you to come with me to discuss our options at this point."

He became even more pale. Jennifer gripped his hand carefully and rubbed his shoulder as Maggie gestured toward the family rooms. Travis half stood up, but Jennifer shook her head at him. He nodded slightly, accepting that they couldn't go down this path with Ripley right now.

"Vic's lungs have undergone extreme smoke inhalation. We have her on 100% oxygen and an oscillation ventilator to try to prevent more lung volume barotrauma. As of yet, we are not making progress on the probable debris in her lungs that prevent oxygen exchange, which is why we can't raise her oxygen saturations. At some point in the next 24-48 hours, her carbon dioxide will build up to levels not sustainable with life."

"You're saying she's slowly suffocating."

"Yes. I am."

"What can you do?"

"Most people with her medical condition would have died within hours of her exposure. It's unheard of to make it this long."

"You said 'options.'"

"There's some experimental procedures would consider, but there is an element of risk to them."

"How so?" His blue eyes were fixed on her.

"We could put her on cardiopulmonary bypass, extubate her temporarily, and use therapeutic bronchoscopy to clean out her lungs. That may work, but the side effect profile may not be . . . acceptable."

"'Not acceptable?'"

"Yes. It runs the risk though of her having a pulmonary embolism, stroke, or hemorrhage, and DIC. If her airway closes during the bronchoscopy, we may not be able to re-intubate her. Even more, it would be an extensive procedure and it would involve entering her heart and . . .and we would end up entering her chest and her heart, destroying one of her carotid arteries permanently. This would be a combination of surgical bypass and ECMO, neither of which have ever been proven to improve smoke inhalation, usually used in childhood drownings. With only one remaining carotid artery, if she survived, she would also never be allowed to fight fires again."

"My concern for her firefighting career is pretty low right now." Said the Seattle Fire Chief.

"There is another option. There's something called bronchial alveolar lavage. We would put liquid solution down her lungs and basically wash them out, removing as much of the debris as possible. We do that a couple times without extubating her. And after that we would give her surfactant. We use it on infants; it helps them start getting oxygen into the blood. It's an experimental treatment for smoke inhalation."

"Does this one come more highly recommended?"

"This one carries its own separate set of risks and, until today, I would not have recommended it."

"What you mean?"

"In order to do it, we would have to take her off the vent and there would be periods where she wouldn't be breathing at all during the bronchial alveolar lavage. If she had a severe hypoxic event during it, or a bronchospasm, it could lead to cardiac arrest. That is what happened before in the fire from oxygen deprivation."

"Then why you suggesting this thing?" Ripley's voice had changed again, and he was using that tone that made her want to tell him anything.

"I looked over her physicals and lab work. If anyone can tolerate this procedure, it's Vic. I didn't understand before, but Vic has a very unusual physiology that would make her uniquely suited to tolerate this procedure. For reasons I do not completely understand, she has been able to handle severe hypoxic stress. Her teammates tell me that she has the best air regulation of anyone. Between the 27 mg of iron from the prenatals Herrera says are in her locker, combined with her recent extreme physical training and her lack of cycles, it increased her hemoglobin so she can tolerate extreme amounts of oxidative stress. That's probably why she still neurologically intact as far as we can tell."

"You're saying she's so healthy and her so good at controlling her air that she can go without for longer without it and possibly survive the procedure."

"I think this it's her best chance." Maggie wasn't going to pull her punches. "But there is a risk because we are deliberately pouring fluid into her lungs clean them out."

"If it fails, can you still do the bypass thing?"

"We can, but there are so many moving parts on that one, it could easily kill her. If we do nothing, she will die, but that is an option too. We can extubate her and let . . . allow natural death. You need to tell me what you think she would want."

"It's funny. This is one of those things that we didn't talk about. We always knew one of us could die. We talked about resuscitation and stuff like that, we had to after last year. But deciding between two experimental options that might kill her or do nothing and let her die, that wasn't in our living wills." His voice was tired. "You said she's neurologically intact?"

"We believe so," Maggie said. "She starts fighting the vent and she's moving her arms and legs okay. But since we can't extubate her, we're keeping her sedated."

"Can we wake her up and ask her?" Ripley said.

Maggie hesitated. "If she self extubates, I don't know if we'll be able to get her airway back."

"What if I'm in the room? If I can be there and talk to her, she probably won't fight it as much. Remember, she's really good at suppressing that stuff." Now his voice had become compelling.

Maggie gave that some thought. Finally, she said, "Okay. If she starts to struggle too much, I'll put the meds back on."

* * *

  
Vic was in a cloud of smoke. A cloud of smoke that beeped. There was something wrong with her eyes because they couldn't open. The last thing she could remember seeing was the smoke in the bank. Now it felt like she was floating in the smoke. There was an ache that she couldn't necessarily called pain. She was breathing but not breathing with this bizarre shaking click.

Had she died? Was she dead? Or was she still in the bank? She heard people's lives flash before their eyes. Maybe as they're dying they slow down. But it didn't quite smell like smoke. Just looked like it.

The noises and the click seemed to get a little bit louder, more rhythmic, and closer.

"Okay, I'm pulling back on the versed drip," a voice said. "Vic, I'm untaping your eyes now and changing the ventilator to standard mode from oscillator ." That weird shaking stopped.

Hands removed something from Vic face. She wasn't in smoke anymore. It was a hospital room. She couldn't move her head and she felt like there was something stuck in her mouth. And the breathing was wrong. She couldn't breathe; she couldn't not breathe. She's choking, starving for air, gagging.

"Vic. Victoria. Victoria," A familiar voice was almost yelling. Lucas's face hovered right above her. "Please stop moving. You're on a ventilator. We got you out. You made it out."

Her eyes looked around wildly. This was not a dream. He was really right there. Lucas look terrible. If she was out, did that mean everyone else me that out? 

Maggie Pierce's face came into view. "Vic, we decreased your sedation so we can talk to you. okay. Please do not fight the ET tube in your mouth."

"You did it, Vic," Lucas said. "Everybody made it out. Francis, the five civilians. Sullivan. You saved them all."

Pierce's face came back. "You have severe smoke inhalation. Your heart stopped a couple times. We got you back. Do you understand? If you do blink twice for yes and once for no."

She deliberately blinked twice.

"Recognize me and your husband Chief Ripley?"

She blinked twice.

"Okay good." Maggie's face relaxed slightly. Vic felt someone hold her hand; she figured that must have been him.

"I love you so much Vic, Eggy," he said.

Pierce returned to the matter at hand. "I don't know any other way to tell you this, Vic, but your lungs have been severely damaged by smoke. Whatever you did with the desks exposed you far more than everyone else in the bank."

"We have basically three choices right now," Maggie said. "We can leave you on the vent keep you sedated and see if your lungs heal themselves. It seems unlikely like since despite your bicarb buffer, your lungs are having trouble passing oxygen into your blood and you are slowly becoming more acidotic."

"We could put you on cardiopulmonary bypass, use bronchoscopy to clean out your lungs and hope that they'll get better with time. We'd have to extubate you for the bronchoscopy and we may not be able to reintubate you. As you know, we would have to open up your chest to put the bypass in. "

"We could do a similar cleaning procedure with bronchoalveolar lavage while you're awake. Pour a bunch of fluid in your lungs and suction it out through the ET tube. Then we'd give you surfactant which we hope we improve the oxygen passage from your lungs into your bloodstream. It would help your lungs as absorb oxygen which they're struggling with right now."

"Problem with that option is that you'll be off the vent for that time. You have to be able to survive going without oxygen or breathing for us to do that."

"I don't know what to do, Eggy." Ripley said. "I had them save you, but now I don't know what to do."

Vic's eyes roamed wildly. She blinked once.

"Do you want me to go for a couple minutes?" Maggie said. "Do you want to be alone with him?"

Two blinks.

Luke placed his face over hers and embraced her as much as her tubing would allow. "You should have seen it, Vic. Travis drove an armored car into the bank to get you out. Against my orders, they crashed right through the wall. I wanted to save you so badly, but I couldn't."

She blinked once.

"'No' what?" he said. "Do you hate me for having to make that choice? The choice that brought you here. I promised to always be here for you, and I broke it."

She blinked once, again.

"I fired Fitzpatrick," he said. "More than 200 people died in that fire in the shootout. All she wanted to talk about was this farce of a wedding. That was two days ago. Francis is the new PR spokesperson for the Seattle Fire department."

Now Vic blinked twice.

"I'm sorry I'm telling you all of this. I know what I need to ask you but I wanted this first. I love you." Lucas knew he might have been babbling.

Two blinks. 

"I hope you still love me too."

Two blinks and a hand squeeze. 

"Now I have to ask. Let me tell you that choices again. Do nothing and leave you on the vent you might heal, but most likely die. Two- open up to for the bypass, a clot or a bleed or a stroke might kill you. Three - do the cleaning procedure while awake which might kill you too." His face became more bleak with each word and Vic understood that Lucas was barely holding it together.

"Pierce believes that you can survive the respiratory standstill for option 3 because your heart is so healthy and you're the best anyone has ever seen at controlling breathing and tolerating no air. She thinks that's why you're still with us."

"Okay, option one wait it out." One blink.

"Option two bypass." One blink.

"Option three awake lung clean out." They were two blinks.

"I don't want to, but I also have to ask you this. If it doesn't work, do you want Pierce to extubate you or leave you on the vent?"

Vic thought of that couple minutes. She focused on what's the ventilator felt like right now. Would she be able to to go on like that for a little more time?

Or maybe not. She helped vent transports before. They were bandaids over the bullet holes. Even these few minutes of being awake were chokingly difficult to stay calm. Did she want to spend her last minutes on the vent? That bizarre vibration of the oscillator was frankly terrifying.

"Do you want that? Do you want to stay intubated?"

Their eyes held for a couple seconds. She loved him so much- just to stay with him she'd do almost anything. But the pain in his eyes, not being able to touch, drawing it out wouldn't lessen the pain of the inevitable separation and honestly might kill the man she loved even faster.

One blink.

He clenched his jaw, steeled himself and nodded. "And I will support all of your decisions . . . Even if it means letting you go. Do you want us to put you back under?"

Two blanks. Maintaining sanity against the vent was difficult.

Ripley pressed her call band. Pierce came back in immediately.

"I have her decision, and she wants to go back under. She picked option 3, the BAL." He kissed her forehead. "I love you and I will always love you."  
  
That was the last thing Vic heard because oblivion returned when Pierce turned back on the sedation.

Ripley walked alone to the waiting room. The team was sitting there in a group with Francis and Jennifer. All of them could see how crushed he looked.

"You guys are her family so I need to let you know. All measures that have been tried have failed. Dr. Pierce is going to try an experimental last-ditch effort. They going to wash out her lungs while she's awake and try to replenish her surfactant. If it fails, Vic wants to be extubated - so she can say goodbye."

If a couple seconds no one moved, not even his own sister. Then Travis stood up, crying. He walked directly over the Ripley and gave him a big hug. The rest of the group waited a few seconds before gathering together in one group hug.

* * *

  
After a while, Maya's phone vibrated. It was messages from the rest of the wedding party down in the Pit. Hunt, Meredith, DeLuca, and Jo sent well wishes and said they would check in later. With Jack staying with Francis, Andy doing whatever it was she thought she was doing with Sullivan, that left Maya in charge of the rest of her team. She contacted Frankel who informed her that A shift was grounded for at least 5 days and she'd already called in D shift. With Sullivan out of commission, each shift's lieutenant was to divide up the captain duties which meant Maya was going to be the one.

Sometimes it's better to be single and unattached. Focused. Someone needed to be. 

Speaking of, Dean snuck into the physician section of the ICU to find Maggie, "Are you doing okay?"

Maggie tensely straightened out her navy blue scrubs. "Not a bit. I might kill her."

"You need a supply room?" he asked. "Ben says we use those."

"How about we go to be attending lounge?"

She let him down the hall. No one else was in the lounge, he made himself comfortable on the couch and held her hands in his.

"Say whatever you need to say."

"I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Like four people have ever tried this protocol - I've even called Dr. Yang in Switzerland for her advice. It's not even surgery. I don't know if it's going to work. I don't know what I'm going to do if it doesn't. She's broken. They were supposed to be getting married but instead am I robbing them of that?" So many words tumbling out at the same time.

"Hold on," Dean said. "They've been married for almost a year. The wedding was not about them."

Maggie exhaled slowly. "You're right. You're right."

"I wish my mom could hear you say that."

That made her smile at his attempt at levity. "How are you holding this together? You know both of them way better than I do."

"Well," he said. "I'm used to the situation not being in my control. We brought her to the best doctor who's going to do everything to save her. Bad and good, there's nothing else I can do now."

"You believe in me that much. You think I can do this."

"I think that you're doing everything you can. And if you can't do any more, no one else can." Her face crumpled slightly and Dean gave her deep hug. After a couple moments, he released her when she saw him brush a tear off of his face. She chose not to say anything. She could let him think that she was the only one being comforted.

* * *

"Okay," Maggie explained to Ripley, "We brought Dr. Alex Karev into this. He's our pediatric surgeon."

"Pediatric surgeon?" Lucas shook hands with the man he'd met a few times at best.

"I'm doing Vic's BAL, but Alex is in charge of the experimental surfactant section."

"I use it the most in kids. I'm not even necessarily sure what to expect. We give it to babies because they don't make any of their own to let air go from the lung through the tissue and then into the blood. If she's got so much debris, she probably can't make her own right now. This could buy her a lot more time."

"What do you mean time?" Ripley wondered if he should have asked more questions earlier.

"Fortunately acute smoke inhalation injury actually heals very quickly within 1 to 4 weeks." Maggie said,"Unlike smoking which is a chronic disease that goes all the way through the lungs and damages them over a decades, acute injury damages the inner surface of her lungs. If we can improve her air exchange and get some oxygen into her blood, her body will do the rest."

"We hope that the 60 kids worth of surfactant we're giving her will make that air exchange happen, just like it does in underdeveloped preemie lungs." Dr. Karev explained.

"We're going to have to decrease her sedation for the BAL, and I have to take her off the vent." Maggie stated.

"Can I be there when you do it?"

Maggie exchanged glances with Alex who shook his head.

"Why not?"

"You see, we're deliberately drowning her. We would never try this without her permission. She may lose consciousness; we may have to resuscitate her." Maggie told him

"Then, assuming she survives that part, I'm going to pour the surfactant down her ET. But I only have one chance to do that so we need everything to be as controlled as possible."

"When do we know if it works?"

That question went to Alex again "In an infant, we usually see an improvement within a couple hours. Often we are with extabating them within 24 hours. I wouldn't try to make a judgment until at least 6 hours after the surfactant."

"When are we doing it?"

"It would take us a couple hours to call all the hospitals in the city and get enough surfactant." 

"Why don't you go do something for a little bit while we wait? She's still sedated." Maggie suggested.

Ripley dodged his team and wandered aimlessly in the hospital. He found himself outside of Sullivan's room. Sullivan was alone - and awake for once. They kept him sedated as a precaution and Andy Herrera haunted the room when he slept and ghosted when he was awake.

"Luke?" Sullivan said, slightly groggy. He was in some type of neck brace/spinal immobilizer but he was now sitting upright which was new. "How is she doing?"

"Not great," he said. "Lungs are damaged which is not getting her enough oxygen. The rest of the treatments have failed. Going to try experimental thing, or she dies."

"I'm sorry, Rip," Sullivan's voice was hoarse. "I shouldn't have let her go into the smoke by herself. But I couldn't. My spine." His eyes flickered down to his legs. "The docs said that my lumbar vertebrae are slowly collapsing and heavy lifting could-"

"You did everything you could," Ripley said. "It was an awful situation."

"I should have gone with her as her captain."

"If you had, we have another corpse," Lucas said. "She had the best chance since no one regulates their air like her. That's even the only reason they're trying this."

"Are my papers filed?" Sullivan croaked.

"Yes. They're in the folders to be opened today - if anyone remembers to check. It was supposed to be after the wedding."

"What's another wedding for you? Sad. Greedy. Your fourth."

"I don't know if I get a fourth. Did you tell her what was supposed to happen today?" Ripley was referring to Andy.

"The resignation papers weren't filed so there was nothing to tell."

"You didn't buy her a ring in case? Didn't want to be a little greedy."

That gave Sullivan a little coughing fit. "I set the bar a little lower than you do. I was hoping she'd sign the HR papers with me."

"I'm sure Chief Frankel is going to be less than excited to have to replace a Captain of 19 twice in three years." Ripley observed flatly.

"Frankel? It won't be you again."

Lucas's face started to fall. He couldn't even hold back his emotions. "If she dies. I won't be back. I won't be able to act like it didn't happen. I won't be able to get past this." 

"My job is what kept me going after Claire."

"20 years on this job is enough. Especially if it kills my wife." And finally he lost it, completely broke down into tears, openly weeping. Sully tried to comfort his best friend. With difficulty he managed to get one arm around Ripley's quaking shoulders.

* * *

  
Travis and Ripley stood by as Pierce decreased Vic's sedation. Her eyes slowly slid open to see the two most important men in her life for standing at her bedside.

"Hey bestie," Travis said. "You would not believe the week I had. I crashed in armored car into a building. I broke three ribs, but I did not get stabbed in the chest this time." Her eyebrows raised. "Really, I'm fine. We'll get through this."

She lifted her hand in some type of waving gesture, indicating Ripley.

"Something to do with Ripley?" She blinked twice.

"Do you want him to leave?" One blink. "Stay?" One blink.

She shook her hand at Ripley again.

"You want me to stay with him." Two blinks this time.

Understanding dawned on Travis. "You want me to take care of him if you don't make it." Two blinks.

Lucas turned away from her with his shoulders slumped for a couple seconds. Travis put a hand on Luke's arm.

Maggie, Karev, and Schmitt came in. Karev had a vial of something whitish in a container of ice. Travis gave Schmitt a huge hug. Vic's eyes strained sideways slightly since they were at the very edge of vision.

"I'm sorry," Pierce said. "We don't have more time now. The surfactant will only be good for a short time."

Lucas kissed her forehead gently. "Then the time we have will have to be enough. I love you, Victoria. I've loved you since I met you, and I will love you for the rest of my life. If we can't be together here, I promise I'll find you over there." The last words were almost inaudible. "You won't have to wait long; I promise."

They squeezed hands one final time. Travis had to guide Lucas out of the room as his last glimpse of Vic was of her on the bed surrounded by machines before the doctors closed the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, we went there.
> 
> Also, someone told a big lie during this. Can you figure out who?  

> 
> From the science portion, let me explain in a little more detail - a high hemoglobin shows that you have good iron stores and excellent ability to keep move oxygen in your blood. 'Blue' babies get high hemoglobin to compensate for their low oxygen stores - more hemoglobin means they can move more oxygen. You can increase your hemoglobin by supplementing with iron or taking erythropoietin - which is why its a banned drug for sports. Women often lose their hemoglobin and iron stores by monthly cycles - so Vic not having cycles, being super fit, and taking extra iron improved her hemoglobin and her already legendary skill with regulating her air. I decided to make it because she has an inborn genetic tweak that makes her able to buffer the acid from carbon dioxide better than the average human being. 
> 
> This is all theoretical so please don't quiz your doctor on this. I've seen some athletes with really high hemoglobin from iron alone, usually guys.


	6. Promises kept

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And now the outcome . . .

  
Sullivan spoke to them from the front of the church. He was in his dress uniform but without the bars of Captain.

"Victoria Ripley was a brave firefighter. She gave the final measure to save myself and five others. She did it without flinching, without any regrets. She showed such bravery in the face of insurmountable situation."

"She was young, but she knew what she wanted. She never faltered in her chosen path. She was loved by many - her team here at 19, her best friend Travis Montgomery and her beloved husband, Fire Chief Lucas Ripley. None of us will ever forget her, and the time we shared with her was a precious gift."

Lucas didn't know why they selected that portrait from the engagement photos. Francis must have decided that the side profile of Vic in her turnouts with the most joyful expression on her face was the perfect one. It captured her essence in such a way that he couldn't be angry that they had carefully cropped him out.

It's probably better that he couldn't see himself. But he knew what his face looked like in that picture. Unadulterated joy. 

But now there was no joy. And no light. No Victoria. 

"It's time to ring the bell now." Sullivan said thickly. "Time to end her shift."

Lieutenant Bishop rose and walked to the front of the church. She stood behind the bell and started ringing it. Herrera solemnly approached Luke and presented him with Vic's black helmet. It was cracked and melted from the fire at which she had so selflessly given her life.

He closed his eyes, trying to will the sight away. Travis was crying next to him. It didn't matter if there was no Victoria. Nothing mattered without her.

* * *

"Chief," a voice said urgently. He sat up straighter and opened up his eyes. He was not in the church. He was in the Grey Sloan ICU waiting room. Still with Travis who was still crying. 

It was Dr. Pierce. "She survived the procedure." He rose to his feet slowly and tried not sob. There was still that knot out of tension in his chest.

Pierce did not seem particularly happy. "We put her back under. The next 6 hours are going to be critical. Either we'll see improvement in her oxygen saturations and her blood gases or they won't improve."

Luke asked quietly, "What happens if they don't improve?"

"Then we failed, and she's going to die. She will slowly build up more carbon dioxide in her blood which will result in a fatal respiratory acidosis. We can only correct it so much. And there's no way to give her oxygen if her lungs don't work - and she doesn't want heart lung bypass."

"Can we wait with her now?" Travis asked. The chief remained suspiciously silent.

"Yes. We'll get her first blood gas in 6 hours. But I'm not going to make any predictions at all before then. I need to be completely clear on that. I don't want to give anyone false hope."

For the first hour, Travis and the chief held vigil together. They mostly sat by listening to the endless song of vent. Her sats remained stubbornly at 80%.

"If this doesn't work," the chief said. "Can I keep the ring?" He fiddled with the chain on his neck.

Travis couldn't believe his ears. It was such a trivial thing.

"You see," Ripley said. "You've been her best friend and are part of her. I can't separate the two of you. So to keep it would keep a part of her with me."

Travis instantly felt horrible for his uncharitable thoughts.

"I never really expected it back," Travis said." At this point, it's been yours for almost a year. I can't take it back. Besides, I don't think my boyfriend wants to see me backslide."

"Schmitt? Glad you two worked it out. Nice kid." The chief corrected himself. "Man. Doctor."

"He's great," Travis agreed. "Vic liked him. Likes him." He quickly corrected.

The second hour Ben sat with Jennifer at the bedside. Jennifer insisted the chief and Travis out to get coffee.

She was quite firm. "I say this as your sister. You look like hell - go take a shower, get some food."

Ben backed her up. "We won't let Vic alone. If anything changes, you know we have all your numbers. My wife will find you no matter where you are."

Dr. Hunt was waiting for them and took Travis and Ripley to physicians' locker room while the Keurig made new coffee. Neither of them had changed their clothes for days so he also showed them where the doctors' laundry was.

"Any blood stains? You can use special detergent for that. Hydrogen peroxide based. No? Okay? Here's some scrubs to wear while you wait for your stuff to be done."

He threw their uniforms in the washer and let them hang out in the attending lounge. Meredith and DeLuca dropped off some bagels. Travis got a text from Levi who was waiting outside Vic's room monitoring her vitals- there was no change which Travis shared with the silent Lucas.

Hour three was taken over by Jack and Francis. Once she was released from the Kepner observation protocol, she didn't go home because she was needed for press conferences and apparently Meredith Grey kept a whole wardrobe in the hospital - something about dating from last year.

She sat next to Jack. "Do you think she knows I really like her?"

"I think she knows." Jack said. "You must have because you still wanted to see her after that CPR certification." He had changed into a clean uniform too, brought over by Jennifer.

"It came in handy after she saved us," Francis said. "I didn't know we were going to get out of there. I don't know how you guys do this. Every day."

"We don't always end up trapped in buildings like that - only sometimes." There was an echo of some past pain in his words. "But it's still dangerous. Are you okay with that?"

"Are you asking me if I'm okay to become a firefighter or if I'm okay that you're firefighter?"

"Probably that second one." Jack was quiet for a couple minutes. "And I grew up in foster care with only a couple people who I was close to. These people my team. They're my family for now."

"I know. I had 6 months watching you guys work together. It's definitely something special too."

"Does it bother you this closeness? I mean I've dated two women on my shift. I know that makes me sound really dumb. Like tremendously dumb. Recklessly and stupidly dumb." Even as he was mocking himself, he seemed haunted behind his bravado. 

"I guess it makes sense. Why wouldn't you want your family to actually be your family?" She indicated Vic. "I mean I totally see that - what they wanted. I mean - want."

"I want the same thing," Jack said. "They way they were happy, happy together, their place, the love, all of that. Away from the station, away from the danger." He started to crumble. Francis put her arm around him.

"It's okay, Jack, it's okay. Maggie said 6 hours."

Maya came back to monitor Vic with Kat. Andy should have been there, but she kept hiding out in Sullivan's room when he slept and flat out refused to enter Vic's room. That made Maya want to scream - because they were possibly losing their Vic.

Ripley was back to wandering. He'd managed to give Jennifer the slip - he couldn't let her see how close he was to breaking. He would be back for the last hour with Travis so he could receive the news. 

For better or for worse. In sickness and in health.

He eventually went back to Sullivan's room. They must have been keeping Sullivan under relatively strong sedation to prevent him from moving. He's asleep again, and the lone other occupant in the room was Andrea Herrera, sitting next to his bed.

"Are you here to ask me to go see Vic?" She asked softly.

"Is that what you want to do?" he didn't sit down.

She looked at Sullivan. "It's hard to go see her in that room. After my mom. After my dad. It's been less than a year. But no one knows how much time they have. Or how much time they have together." There was an odd lilt on those last words.

Ripley was in no mood for this. "He's resigning as Captain of Station 19."

Her face was shocked. "He didn't tell me. I mean, he didn't tell his officers."

"His doctors told him his spine was unstable - degenerative spondylolisthesis. Didn't know how much longer he'd be able to use his legs if he kept wearing turnouts with oxygen every day. He was transferring to fire operations. It's been planned for about two months."

Herrera's face scrunched as she absorbed that news. "He never said anything to me."

Luke was aware that he was being unfair, but he had too much emotion and anger. Anger over Vic. Anger over Sullivan. Anger over this entire stupid joke of a wedding. Anger over Herrera not being able to handle her relationship problems in a mature manner - a feeling that was arguably intensely hypocritical to be angry at her but not Sully.

"He also had HR forms drawn up because he wanted to ask permission to date someone within the department. He never filed them. Is there anything you want to say about that?"

"He acted like he didn't care. He should have told me." That was her response, blaming the man with a broken back?

"I don't feel like pretending that you two weren't together for however short it was. Vic and I might have kept our relationship quiet, but we never pulled the bullshit you did with him." Ripley couldn't believe that load of crap.

"He told me last year that it would be inappropriate because he was my superior officer. That it would destroy the team."

"Of course he did. He wasn't ready to make the hard choice; you weren't ready. He was ready now. But it must not have mattered very much to you. Stop thinking about yourself! Think about him too!" He was shouting now.

She was on her feet. "You have no idea how much I care. You have no idea how much I think of him."

Ripley didn't hold back his contempt. "_And I know how little I think about you right now_."

That took her completely aback. "What?"

"So you want to play it this way? How did you know that Vic had prenatal vitamins?"

"They're in her locker."

"**Liar**." He accused. "They aren't. I would know. I bought them for her. We kept - keep them in the master bathroom because she didn't want anyone from department to know we were talking about trying. Not that I helped on that."

Andy didn't say anything. He gave her the same regard he'd give a piece of gum on his shoe.

"How did you know how much iron was in her pills?" Did she know what he suspected?

"I don't need to talk about this with you."

"You're right. I'm not the one you need to talk about this with. Maybe you'll text him this time or leave him a voicemail. **_He deserves so much better than you_**." He snarled at her, eyes coming to rest on her midsection. "Will Battalion Chief Frankel be seeing an upcoming Captain's application from you?" She didn't respond. "That's what I thought."

He stalked out with a parting shot. "I'm going back to my wife whom I love and the people who **show up for her**. Because that's what you do for your people. That's what your father would do. He understood loyalty."

It was not the most cathartic emotional release he could have. During that short walk between Sullivan's room and the ICU, he felt like the energy had been sucked out of him. The hour was ending, which Bishop had been watching Vic with Miller since Herrera never showed..

Pierce was waiting by the door. "No change," she said. "Nothing yet." When Travis and Ripley traded with Bishop and Miller, she went with him. "I need to confirm again; Vic would like to be extubated if things are not better in an hour. Is that correct?"

"Yes," Ripley said. "She would rather have a couple hours with us to say goodbye than linger however long it takes on the vent."

"You know I can't tell you how long it will be after extubation. She might not get hours; it could be the minutes. We'll give her all the oxygen and the morphine we can to keep her comfortable." Maggie reminded them.

It was clear to Travis from the anguish on his face that Ripley was not going to be able to speak right now. He answered for Ripley. "Vic would still want that. Surrounded by her family."

More waiting. Travis did not remember when he became a firefighter that he was going to spend a lot of time hospitals his teammates, his family. It had been a very long year. In than a month, it would be a year since Vic had could come down with appendicitis and got married.

Through their the mutual love of Vic, Travis had a lot of time with Ripley, more than anyone except Sullivan. He'd seen many different chief moods, and this was the most broken he'd ever seen him.

Especially when he compared this to how to the chief had been able to pretend everything was fine and act like Vic was simply another firefighter last year. There was no such a charade now. Ripley was exposed to the bone.

No wonder Vic had asked him to take care of Ripley. If anyone knew how to survive the loss of their spouse, it was Travis. Especially since even on the brink of death, Vic was worried Ripley wouldn't survive. Or that he wouldn't want to survive.

Travis knew himself well and that he was compartmentalizing right now by analyzing Ripley. If he didn't think about, he would be able to ignore the clock. Ignore the time. Ignore the implication that as each minutes ticked by - Vic's life was draining away - every second, every minute, until one last moment when she was alive.

Pierce tilted her head at last and said, "It's time for the blood gas," She got out a syringe and headed towards arterial line on Vic's right wrist.

Ripley's nostrils flared, "No wait." He snapped the chain off his neck and took something out of his pocket. It was a beautiful square cut diamond wedding ring in a gold setting. "I want-" he said with difficulty. "I need. . . When she wakes up . . . I want her to wake up with this on her hand. My wife, Eggy, my Vic."

With infinite gentleness, he slipped the ring on Vic's left ring finger and put the silver one on his left ring finger. It was left unsaid she might be waking up to die.

"Ready," Ripley said.

"Okay," Maggie drew blood off of the line. "I'm going to run this and compare it to her other by gases from six hours ago and before. That will probably take me about 20 minutes to review, interpret, and discuss with Dr. Karev before I speak with you. We hope that the carbon dioxide is lower. Lower carbon dioxide good, higher carbon dioxide is bad. We will discuss it if we get an equivocal result."

If they thought the first six hours were long, the 20 minute wait was intolerable. Ripley sat at the bedside, hand on Vic's, not moving, practically not breathing.

Finally Maggie came back in with Alex Karev. They had the pieces in their hands of paper that look like receipts - Istat printouts. Their faces were carefully neutral.

Travis and Ripley stood. Maggie inhaled from the diaphragm. "The numbers are better."

"This is good news?" Ripley sounded bewildered.

"Very good news," Karev said. "I expect in the next hour or two her stats will start improving. That's what we usually see with infants. Once the acidosis is halted, typically then their stats improve. I mean, she's still on the vent and not out of the woods, but this is a very good sign."

"If she does really well, we can probably extubate her the next 24 to 48 hours. As we said before if most smoke inhalation patients don't die, we fix things. The lungs are almost fully recovered within 1 to 3 weeks." Maggie finally gave them a half smile.

Ripley didn't say anything. He took two steps towards Pierce and wrapped her in a tight embrace.

Travis looked around and for lack of other option, embraced Dr. Karev who was somewhat uncomfortable.

"Can we wake her up and tell her?" Ripley asked.

"How about we give you guys some time to absorb this news first? Since there is improvement, we can recheck her labs again in 3 hours now. Why don't we wake her up then? Maybe you can nap while you wait. I prefer you being a little bit more rested."

Ripley faced Travis. "I'm not leaving until I talk to her so can you please update everyone?"

"Absolutely, sir." Travis left to share the news with his waiting team.

Ripley pulled his chair even closer to Vic, gently placing his head near her thigh and keeping his left hand in hers.

By the time Maggie and Alex turned back around, he was fast asleep.

* * *

  
Vic was in a dream. Had to be a dream. She was at the station. The rigs were gone; she was in the barn by herself.

"Hello?" her voice echoed back. There was no answer.The barn started filling up with smoke. She saw someone in turnouts heading to the smoke. It was the Captain. He was in the smoke. She chased after him - didn't he know that if he went in, he would die. He wasn't wearing a mask. You're not supposed to go into fire without a mask.

She ran after him. Her boots banged across the concrete. Her vision was distorted by her oxygen mask, and it made an odd sound, rhythmic, almost like oxygen was being pushed into her.

She tried to turn on her radio, "Captain. It's not safe without a mask. Two in, two out."

He didn't answer so she plunged into the smoke too.

She made it to the fire which was at the bottom of the stairs. But the fire wasn't hot. It was almost like a mirror.

In that reflection she saw herself sitting on a bed in the hospital with Lucas. He was the patient; he was struggling to breathe. Her other self turned off the alarms and leaned forward to kiss him. He kissed her with his last breath, and she saw the heart monitor go flat.

The reflection changed to the day he married her; Jennifer and Travis standing there with DeLuca keeping watch outside. He smiled into their kiss. 

It shifted again; she was in the storage room. This time she was alone. She had to open the door and get out. She couldn't breathe. Open the door. Get out. Get out. Get out. It was stuck. She didn't have her axe; she couldn't pry the door open. The bank door wouldn't open; she couldn't get out. The room was filling with smoke. She needed to open the bank door or no one would make it.

There was a hand on her shoulder. It was the Captain. He looked calm and unworried in the smoke. "It's okay, Victoria," he send. "It's okay. You got everyone out."

"I didn't stop you," she said.

"I didn't want you to," he said. He put his hands against the door. "I bought you a good life. It's waiting for you."

"Is it?" she asked. "Or was that the dream?"

"It doesn't matter. You will always find each other."

A deep sense of peace and contentment flooded through Vic. One way or another she would be with Lucas. It didn't make sense, but somehow she knew.

The door opened under Captain Herrera's gloves. And Vic walked through.

* * *

  
And there Lucas was. He was standing over her, his eyes filled.

"Vic ... it worked. The treatment - it worked."

Whatever dream Vic had been having started to fade. Now she remembered. Because she was intubated.

She lifted her left hand which had not been restrained this time. It felt different. It _was_ different because there was a wedding band on it.

Lucas held up his left hand. He was wearing the silver wedding band she had known so well that had resided on his neck for so long.

"Together forever, like we promised."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about that first section but it needed to be done. 
> 
> What revelation during all of this was the most exciting?


	7. Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone made it back from the hospital. Who is doing well and who is struggling?
> 
> Sexiness is happening.
> 
> Medic One actually has its own Battalion which is why it has a different number. (I renumbered the real SFD battalions for simplicity. They actually jump all over.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am trying to give my fav couple the very best life they never got.
> 
> Listen, I like everyone else am pretty sad that with the show's current plan to erase all things Vicley from ever existing. I am going to finish up this story in 4-5 chapters and I was working on a 'Season 4.' Is that something people want to see, or should I call it quits at the end of this story?
> 
> There is also a strong possibility that I will eventually pull and re-edit the stories, removing all copyrighted material and publish them for real.

The final outcome of the Valentine's Day Bombing was 225 deaths, 40 civilians wounded, 15 police officers were among the casualties and one news crew. Only 7 occupents of the strip mall actually survived. There were about 20 unrelated minor physical injuries from the SFD with Travis Montgomery's being the worst with 3 broken ribs. A couple of firefighters had sprained ankles or small fractures from partial building collapses during overhaul.

Mental injuries were significantly higher. The much greater issue was the 400 traumatized firefighters who had to work on overhaul and body recovery. The police force was equally emotionally decimated as the missing officers had to be identified by dental records, and there wasn't even enough of Officer Kristoff to bury. Police Chief Reyes was besieged by calls for her resignation after that debacle and couldn't begin to handle logistics of getting help for her force. It fell to Ripley who brought in every psychiatrist, psychologist, licensed social worker, and grief counselor for 200 miles. He recruited people from Tacoma, Portland, everywhere - cashing in many of his political favors.

The members of 19 A shift didn't escape unscathed, completely. They missed all of overhaul, but they were also aware that there had been forty people in the bank they made no effort to save. Some of the debris on the floor were probably personal effects of the doomed front door.

Of the seven survivors, only Sullivan and Vic truly understood what had been at the front door. Still, with such limited visibility and the more pressing concerns of survival, they both admitted they didn't fully remember certain sections of the ordeal.

Once it was clear that Vic was going to make a recovery, Ripley was back at work, tackling the nigh insurmountable task of completing demolition, starting counseling for the department, attending four days of continuous funerals, and helping Frankel cover the new holes in Station 19 staffing. Sullivan had been discreetly discharged on day 5, his resignation enacted while he was in the hospital. No one was sure where Ripley found the strength or the time for everything. Vic was extubated and almost immediately moved to pulmonary rehab. Luke would Facetime into her morning rounds from whatever department event he was at and worked continuously. He didn't starve because Jen stayed for 2 more days and restocked his office with frozen meals before returning to Oregon. Luke would be back to the hospital at 8pm, flagrantly disregarding visitors' hours. The nursing staff would find him curled around Vic, who would lovingly tell them 'sshh' and refuse to make him leave. The man never went home.

True to Maggie's prediction, Vic's recovery was short and miraculous. She was discharged on day 8 and, other than another week of Albuterol every 4 hours while awake, Pierce did not expect her to have any long-term effects. At Vic's request, no one in her team was there to see her off. Vic wanted to quietly make it home. There was a lot of curiosity to the outside public about their canceled wedding. She texted the team to let them know she was on her way home. She told them she'd see them at work, and she was starting back up immediately on light reception duty the following day. Fitzpatrick might have been gone, but her contract issues remained.

The drive home was very quiet; Ripley had picked her up in his own truck since her Jeep was toast. He was wearing one of her favorite light blue button-downs and she was wearing a pair of jeans and a Station 88 t-shirt. He held her hand the whole drive, but it seemed like he couldn't say anything. They hadn't had any privacy in the hospital, and she was feeling frisky, to put it mildly, for a reunion. What they parked and made it inside, Vic was gratified to see that someone had taken the time to clean their house and refill the refrigerator. Interestingly there was a whole set of wedding presents piled up against one half of the living room.

"Travis has to be the best friend ever," Ripley said. "He shopped for groceries and cleaned this entire place with Levi and Jennifer. I haven't been back until I got my clothes here this morning. Just the hospital and headquarters." He stood there staring somewhat vacantly at her.

Vic's hair had been tied back in a simple scrunchie. She took it off and set it on the kitchen island. She walked over to him and gave him a huge hug which he hardly returned. "Earth to Lucas," she said.

"Sorry," he held her tighter. "You could have died."

"But I didn't," she said. "I had other plans."

"But you could have-"

Any other words were stopped by Vic dragging him down to her level to capture him with a feral kiss. It was like having fire exploding a flashover. She found herself pressed against the kitchen island with his hands clawing at her shirt. There's a popping sound, and she snapped open his shirt, buttons flying everywhere. The jeans are halfway undone when suddenly he stopped.

Emotions chased each other across his face - hunger, love, guilt. Luke started to say. "You died. You died and they got you back."

"I'm alive, and I sure as hell not spending another minute without you." She brought her mouth back up to his and he returned the kiss with equal fervor.

She could tell he really wanted to be gentle with her but that's not what she wanted. She forced him back against the wall and actually tore his pants and shirt off of him. Whipping off her own underwear, she ground herself against his shaft, moistening him with her own wetness.

It was still a lot of hesitation. She grabbed his face and make him look at her. "Sex now, love later." She smashed her mouth against his, maneuvering him towards the couch.

It took almost nothing to get him hard and ready, if slightly emotionally conflicted. She was not. Without pausing to let him think, she climbed on top of him and impaled herself. He was still kind of shell shocked. This might not have been the homecoming he imagined, but he certainly wasn't going to protest her use of his body like this. She rode him forcefully, still dressed on her torso, eyes darkened, skin aflame with unrestrained hunger. Luke was transfixed in this sudden wild joining of their bodies after the gaunlet they'd been through, letting her own him this moment.

She must have been pretty aroused because in minutes she was shaking, screaming, and scratching him. She clasped his shoulders tight enough to give him bruises. Her lips were on his ear, commanding him. "Come."

He met that thrust with one of own his own. She flung her head back, chest heaving and he let go, filling her, with a growl. "Vic."

With that release, she stopped moving, cuddling him instead. The wild tumble of her curls drapped across his skin, her half naked body laying on top of his. The adrenaline of her emotional cyclone started to fade. Luke set his hand under her chin, lifting it and showing her an expression that clearly communicated that she meant the world to him.

Vic returned his sentiment with her own. Now her smile was much calmer, "Don't you feel better?"

"Yes" he admitted. "I planned I'm taking things a little bit slower. As in maybe we would have gotten to that in a couple days."

"Maybe that was a couple days too long for me to wait." Vic carefully slid off him. "How about a nice shower now? One that doesn't have an alarm in it in case I fall." 

Lucas blinked slowly at her, watching her work her way out of her top. He exhaled deeply and got up, "I'll make sure you don't fall."

Trying to restore some normalcy, she winked, "Unless you make me fall."

That elicited an unanticipated reaction, Lucas caught her arm, spinning her back to him. "I will never let you fall. Never." He lifted her in his arms, carrying her to the master bedroom.

He took her directly into the bathroom, turned on the shower, and they stood outside letting it warm up. Lucas checked her over, taking in all of the changes. She still had a bruise on her chest from the CPR with her arms a mixture of yellowing bruises and cuts from all of the IVs and arterial lines. He could see the outlines of various monitors from their tape on her chest and back.

"Sorry," she touched some of the glue, "Since they guarded me during the showers, and they didn't give me a ton of supplies, it was hard enough to get my hair washed before someone came to check on me."

"Let me take care of you," he said softly. So she gave herself over to his ministrations.

He started by bringing her into the shower and placing her under the water, wetting her hair. Vic admitted quietly, "Still smells a little bit like smoke." Luke started working shampoo into her hair. He grabbed her coconut oil and put some on his hands.

"What are you doing?" she was confused.

"Oil is really good at getting off medical tape grime. Travis told me he learned it after his injury."

"I didn't know."

That made him smile slightly as he blocked the spray and massaged the oil over each spot where it was still gritty. True to his prediction, as he rubbed each of those areas, the glue started to ball up. He took extra time on the ones by her chest. Even more, the way he was touching her skin was with such loving care.

With all the tape marks cleaned up, he used the coconut body wash on the loffa to give her a quick scrub down. Still very gentle.

"Okay, rinse off, hair, everything," he instructed.

Vic stepped back into the spray letting the water slide across her skin. He'd left it at the medium temperature she preferred, not scalding, his favorite. Luke immediately shampooed hair second time, "You don't usually you don't need to do it twice, but-"

"I know," she said, "I was smoke for a lot longer than usual."

He took out her conditioner and poured a generous amount into her hair.

She started to rub it, but he held her hands back. "Let me. I said I'd take care of you." Vic lowered her hands. Now almost a year in practice, he easily spread the conditioner through her curls.

"Some people might say that getting your hair done is better than sex."

He chuckled, "You can tell me in an hour." He gave her a slow searing kiss, enveloping her in the warmth of his body. She could tell he was slowly getting aroused, becoming more firm against her. When they broke apart, he caught her hand before she tried to touch him.

"Let me take care of you," he repeated again. Now she understood he was asking to let him give and she do nothing but take.

"Okay," Vic said, "because you did have great hands."

Then he poured the body wash on those hands and lathered them up. He took hers in his, starting with the right and used the soap to wash each of her fingers. He studiously worked his way to her wrist, elbow, and shoulder. When he reached her neck, he gave her another kiss, a little bit more urgent. Luke moved down to the other hand, soaping her ring. It was a little too big with all of the weight she lost and he placed a kiss on the inside of her wrist before he covered it with soap. He knelt on the floor and did both of her feet all the way up to above her knees to her lower thighs. Vic recognized this for the glory it was - love, worship, promise all running together in an all consuming package.

He put his arms around her waist and gently bent her forward letting her brace herself against the tile wall. Using deliberate care, he massage his way down her shoulders and her spine, stopping to make her cleft tingle and then lovingly squeezing both of her cheeks. He folded himself over her and carefully penetrated her entrance with his fingers. She panted as he lazily worked them in and out of her. His free hand wrapped around her breast and tugged her nipples into tight points. Luke whispered into her hair. "Let me take care of you. I can take care of you really well."

She couldn't find fault with the masterful job he was doing. Every part of her body was alive and hungry, surrounded by him. All of that focus on touching and pleasuring her made her want to catapult out of her own skin.

"Luke,"she moaned quietly, "Give me -"

"I'm not done taking care of you yet," he said, the words vibrating against her shoulder. Luke turned her back around and reclined her against the tiles facing him this time. There was stripe of soap across her breasts but he went ahead and made sure to soap it up again, shaping her nipples, carefully watching how dilated her pupils were. Listening to the intake of her breath as she responded to his ardent attentions.

This time when he bent forward, he captured her taut dark buds in his mouth, gently nipping them with his teeth. His fingers crept down to her triangle of spongy hair and spread her thighs before teasing her most sensitive spot. Usually she would have been giving him orders; it was obvious that he wanted to reduce her to a half conscious post-orgasmic haze. He wasn't going to stop until he got her there.

He was listening hard to the noises she was making, increasing his tempo to make her writhe against him a little bit more frantically and then purposely slowing down. Each time he did that, the tension inside Vic wound tighter. She punched her hands into his hair, almost shaking with delayed release.

When she was at the point that she couldn't take it anymore, his head came up he kissed her mouth, finally rubbing her clit with his thumb the way she needed it. "Once I do this," he said, "I'm going to use my mouth on you everywhere. And then, Chief Hughes, then I'll take the rest of you too."

He pushed three fingers inside of her, and she came at last with a shudder.

Good thing his other hand was behind her waist, making sure she didn't collapse as her legs went weak. Rinsing her off a second time, she let him guide her out of the shower, wrapping her in fluffy towel. He put one around his waist, grabbed her hair oil with pick and led her to the bed.

From there he proceeded to give her a thorough but arousing toweling off. He spooned up against her, trapping his cock between their bodies, and carefully dried off her inner thighs and her chest.

Once he was done there, he lay her flat and carefully oiled and untangled her hair with the pick. Every once in a while he'd place kisses on her shoulders, neck, or chest. He wasn't most romantic for nothing, and he was transparent with his goal of wanting to please her every second of these moments.

She wasn't blind to his body and how much iron control he was exerting. He mentioned that there was a place that he could box in the hospital, so he must have been doing that, and probably not eating because she didn't think she'd seen him so cut or lean in the past. She had to suppress the temptation to touch him since he was running the show.

Still she couldn't help herself, as he was finishing off her ends, she hopped forward to give him a quick bite on his shoulder, right next to his scar. Luke went rigid against her and turned his face to hers. She bit her lip, "Wasn't I promised mouth?"

"You were," he agreed. Lucas's lips traveled slowly past her neck and down her chest. He stopped to worry each nipple to maximum hardness and achiness. He explored her belly button as the edges of her ribs. Reaching her thighs, he shoved a pillow under her, lifting them upward, and placed both her legs over his shoulders.

Then he gave her the slowest and most maddening oral she'd ever had. He took every single second to slowly paint her with his tongue. Both sides, he made sure to taste each one several times spreading his spit and her juices in all directions. He gave her darting little kisses on her channel, running his tongue from her hole to clit and back down. Anytime she tried to thrust her hips high or get closer, he held her down.

The fire was slowly building inside of her; with each stroke of his tongue, he was being everything he'd promised and more. She found herself gropping with a hand, trying to get him to put more pressure that hooded bundle of nerves.

"Patience," he captured her wrist. "Hands to yourself." The gentle command was still a command. "Tell me that it's working."

"Fuck yes. It's working," she exclaimed underneath his mouth, scraping her own fingers on the bedspread. "It's working so well I'm having trouble remembering my name. Please, Lucas. Please."

"I'll be done when you're screaming," he redoubled his efforts and all Vic could do was mew while his nimble tongue moved ceaslessly. She was so wet, but there he was drinking it down, licking her from stem to stern. At last he pressured her clit with his tongue and her entrance with his finger, leading her to shout as an orgasm suddenly swept over her. He used his lips to urge her on, holding her to him until the last spasm ended.

She lay back spent and still spread eagle open to him. It was like she could barely breath while she waited for her brain reconnect to her body. Then when she saw him rise up above her, her moisture on his beard and a smile on his lips.

"Anything else I can do to take care of you?" Lucas's smile got even broader because her eyes were eagerly roaming his body. "Anything you would like, Chief Hughes?"

Getting the words out felt like trying to talk through syrup. "Chief Hughes would like Chief Ripley to use his dick on her. Chief Ripley's mouth felt so good, that Chief Hughes will agree to anything he wants."

"I think I'll start giving Chief Hughes a little hose right now." He climbed on top of her, letting his turgid cock skate across her abdomen. "I promised you I'd satisfy you."

"I'm not satisfied, yet." Vic guided his member down to the spot where it fit perfectly. His eyes were equally as hot as hers as he lowered himself in the furnace of her body.

He gasped; she gasped and they began to move with him a harmonious rhythm. One skin, one flesh, one heart, one pleasure. This was one of those times where sex wasn't merely physical but spiritual and near religious, elevating both of them plane that they could only reach together. His hands were on her back and she had pulled him close gripping his shoulders. Their lips met, their bodies dancing again, rising and falling together . Then finally simultaneous relief for both of them as her orgasm milked him to completition, the surge of tide that went on and on and robbed them both of speech.

They lay there for a long while a jumble of limbs still run melded together, staring at each other almost like they'd reinvented sex. But that wasn't only sex, he made love to her every tool he had and she loved him back with everything she had.

Two lips opened and the same words emerged. "I love you."

* * *

  
Ben Warren, Medic One trainee, reported right on time to Battalion 6 HQ, the home of Medic One on the opposite side of Grey Sloan from Station 19. The door opened and he saw a beautiful fleet of ambulances with Medic One emblazoned on their sides. He'd visited here before, but now it was real. Chief Langford greeted him at the door. "Medic One trainee, Benjamin Warren - yes?"

"Yes, sir," Warren snapped to attention.

Chief Langford laughed slightly,"We're a little bit more casual here. A little bit more hospital and little bit less running laps."

"Whatever it is, it'll be a pleasure," Warren said.

"Let's introduce you to the rest of your team." He pointed out 3 members of Medic One. "This Shireen Varma, Charles Ping, and Matthew Taylor."

"That you, Matthew?" Warren was surprised. 

Matthew Taylor pulled Warren into a bear hug. "Long time no see." He was married to Dr. April Kepner, formerly of Grey Sloan. "Missed you during the Valentine's Day incident."

"I've heard all about Ben Warren," Varma explained. "You did a C-section in a kitchen on his wife."

Matthew shrugged, "We weren't married at the time."

"I had no idea you were rostered here." Ben was still absorbing the news.

"You take it to the next level once you've been married to a trauma surgeon and almost dying a bunch of ice. Figured I'd go for it, and here I am - two years later."

"Always happy to see a familiar face." Ben admitted.

"You'll be seeing that face alot since when you're not at class, you'll be with us 24/7." Shireen pointed over her shoulder to the aid cars. "Get him acquainted with the rigs and we'll see if he's the first scapel jockey who asks before he starts cutting."

"I hope so," Warren smiled and headed into his future.

* * *

Operations was downstairs in one of the lower floors of headquarters. Sullivan showed his ID badge to get in and was directed down there. A friendly administrative assistant directed him to Alan Hastings, Chief of Operations.

They met briefly in the past, Allen was approximately 70 years old white male, with a brush a beard.

"You're my new assistant?" he shook Sullivan's hand. "I know I'm not supposed to have this beard. I need something to do while I crunch manpower figures. Might as well stroke my beard."

"Well if it's part of the uniform," Sullivan said, "I guess I can work on growing one."

Hastings glance doubtfully at the top of Sullivan's bald head and chose not to comment. "My office is right there and yours is next to it. As you know, operations is the administrative heartbeat of the department. We review all aspects of the department for manpower, equipment and usage - training, retention, resource utilization, budgeting, incident command. You name it, we analyze it." 

"Sounds great." Sullivan agreed. 

"That's all you brought - one box? My last assistant, Haskell, brought 12 boxes and sixty photos of his kids. When he became battalion chief, it took him forever to pack."

"How long ago was that?"

"About a year. Most of my assistants last about six months to a year before they get promoted out. I make them do the heavy lifting."

"As long as it's not too heavy," Sullivan said, wondering if Hastings knew about his back. He had to wear an itchy brace for at least a week, pending clearance from Dr. Lincoln.

"Oh, hell no, I'm joking. There is no heavy lifting unless you count a lot of account books and a bunch of numbers. We go out a couple times a week to help with building inspections and re-examine complex scenes once they're secured to evaluate the resource utilization in real time. You'll have plenty of time to rest your back. I'm sure you applied for your online degree in fire science too?"

"Yes sir," Sullivan agreed. He hadn't realized that Hastings was so sharp. He likely got underestimated due to his age. This would be a big learning experience.

"Good. Nice to see that Ripley's keeping that up. Being my assistant trains you so when you're battalion chief, you give me less work to do. Nelson's not going to be around forever, and I am so might as well train them young."

It had been while since anybody had called Sullivan young but considering the age of the speaker.

"I appreciate this opportunity," Sullivan said and went to his office - it was echoingly empty and his little box had nothing in it except a photo of himself and Claire, one of he and Ripley back at 88, and the official group shot of Station 19 taken early last year by Travis. (At the time he should have wondered more why Ripley had opted to join it and was standing next to Hughes). 

He wasn't lying to Hastings when he said he appreciated the opportunity. He did. Admittedly he loved order, rules and regulations, though he didn't realize how much he'd miss his team and all their stupid back talk. At HQ he'd be able to see Ripley regularly which would be nice.

And he'd never have to see her again if he didn't want to. 

Somewhere in the first mostly sedated hours of his hospital stay, he had a sense that she had been present, but then nothing. When he finally wasn't drugged, it was Bishop that updated him on Vic's survival. Not her. He never saw her. Warren and Hunt drove him home and helped him clean out his desk. 

Being alone wasn't the end of the world. If that's how it was going to be then that was how it was going to be.

* * *

Due to the huge need, the civic center peer support group met 7 days a week to encompass all the shifts. They had additional counselors for sessions before and after. The entire set up was opened to the police department who had plenty of their own issues. Not only had the police department lost 15 memebers, Chief Reyes privately admitted that Officer Kristoff's actions had played a significant part in the eventual death toll and, even though it could not be publically admitted, her officers felt it keenly. SFD was asked to weigh in on the requests for Reyes resignation and Francis unequivocally threw the support of the SFD behind the police force. The official position of the Seattle FD was that they mourned along with their PD colleagues and that unfortunate unanticipated events sometimes occur. 

For the first 7 days Vic was out of the hospital, Ripley made a huge schedule alteration. If she was on her light duty shift, he would work the entire time, 18 hour days. He would sleep a few hours and get up at 5am to put in 6 hours at HQ. The day would end meeting Vic post shift nap for their own private counseling session. That wasn't a euphemism - he had a counselor come in for them due to the concern that his and her presense at the other groups might have been disruptive. Her survival may have upset the police officers who lost members, and Ripley needed to explore his elation, guilt, and grief over Vic with his greater responsbility of mourning those who he hadn't attempted to save. Pre-marriage and post brush with death counseling one year into their marriage. In many way, his psychological scars went deeper than hers because she hadn't been conscious for most of her medical ordeal.

It was still difficult for him to listen to her talk during therapy that in some ways she wasn't scared of dying anymore. She spoke with conviction about the sense of peace she'd had when she had hovered at the edge. There was something on the other side that filled her with the certainty that she and Ripley would always be together here or there, forever. That only made him more determined to put her first.

Therefore, on days where she was off, he was off. Ripley was the first person to enact the new flexible family leave policy option, and no one complained since the policy was extremely popular. Besides, Vic had reached almost celebrity status internally as the person who almost single handely led 6 other people out of a firestorm after being left for dead. (Bishop was held similar awe, and, to a lesser extent, as was Travis's one-way trip into the bank.)

The rest of the team have been told that under no uncertain circumstances were they to drop in unannounced. Any visiting needed to be preceded by a 3 hour warning and then only if invited. No one voiced their suspicious for the reason why - that there was a 95% chance that one or both of them were naked and a 75% chance that Vic's VaJayJay was in use. If Vic wasn't getting a workout in, she was getting Lucas in. They hadn't had the wedding or gone to Oklahoma City so it was like a honeymoon after essentially three weeks apart, no wonder they were insatiable. It made sense since they had been essentially separated three consecutive weeks.

The first couple days intermittently were laced with that edge of desperation for both of them, reaffirming being alive. She sometimes had nightmares of the ventilator and he would have nightmares are being back in the hospital with her at the brink of death. When either of them woke up due to nightmare, their other was generally there to offer enthusiastic proof of their survival. 

Her team listened to the warning and wisely opted not to visit during her home recuperation. Most of A shift had visited her while she was in rehab on their off days. That's how Travis had known to get the house ready. Andy remained incommunicado except at the station. She hadn't called Maya or visited Sullivan before his discharge. According to Travis, who wouldn't keep a secret from Vic, Sullivan packed up his stuff on his way home from the hospital during C shift, never crossing paths with Andy. In turn, Andy had commandeered the captain's office and spent hours updating the roster and working on the schedule, staying out of everyone's way. 

As nice as it was that first week, Vic had to convince Lucas to go back to work full time. In the back of her mind, she hoped he'd need his vacation time for other things soon enough. The Ripley's spent a few hours on his final off day opening the gifts of their ill fated wedding. He unwrapped ,the presents and she wrote down the names to keep a list of who needed thank you notes. Almost all of their gifts were being donated, but Vic decided to write thank you notes while on reception. 

Vic did find one gift that surprised them. It was from the members of Wedgewood and Rainer Valley stations. "Sorry we couldn't make a Friday night wedding. We've already taken challah for you to do the first mitzvah.' I wonder what that means."

"Not sure either. I think its the 'no other g-ds' one." Ripley absently opened the present. "We are keeping this." It was a plaque written in Hebrew and English as the 'Blessing for the Home/Birkat habayit." 

Bezeh hashaˁar lo yavo tzaˁar. (Through this gate no sorrow will come.)  
Bezot haddirah lo tavo tzarah. (In this dwelling no trouble will come.)  
Bezot haddelet lo tavo bahalah. (Through this door no fright will come.)  
Bezot hammaḥlaqah lo tavo maḥloqet. (In this division no divisiveness will come.)  
Bezeh hammaqom tehi b'rakhah v'shalom. (In this place there will be blessings and peace)

When Ripley returned from hanging it by their front door, he found Vic on the floor on one knee. She held out the officer's ring out, "Lucas Ripley, will you pretend to marry me - for real?" 

"It's yes, Victoria, of course, it's yes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I needed to give them a sexy reunion.
> 
> Question, this story should end in about 4-5 chapters. Should their adventures continue after the wedding?


	8. Complications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Sullivan's transfer and Francis's promotion, things are changing in the department and at Station 19.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt like addressing all sorts of terrible decisions in the first season and the awful captain's race.
> 
> Also, that is how you are actually supposed to use albuterol so if you're an asthmatic, reconsider your technique.

  
The team at 19 was gathered together, even Vic who was now on full duty within 2 weeks of her injury. This was a weird day as the all four of shifts were called in post-A shift to meet with Chief Ripley and Battalion Chief Frankel in the barn.

The three A shift lieutenants, the B, and C shift lieutenants were present -D shift didn't have its its own lieutenant since it was covered by the captain or other shifts since it was only part time. They had the space because Engine 19 was out getting a new coat of paint, the only equipment casualty this year. Noticeably, Andy sat in the very far back as far away as possible from the two chiefs. If Vic's, Maya's, and Trav's stock was rising, hers was not doing well since the news of her failure to come to Vic's bedside had spread. 

Chief Ripley addressed the group. "As you know, Captain Sullivan was injured in incident at the strip mall. We have honored his request of transfer to Fire Department Operations with Assistant Chief of Operations Alan Hastings. That transfer was effective February 17th. For the last couple weeks, you five lieutenants have been doing great work. We're going to have to appoint a new captain for Station 19."

"In most cases," Frankel said, "We would have Captain's testing with the Incinerator. We're concerned about spending our stretched resources on that when the stability and health of Station 19 is considered our top priority. We wanted to meet with all of you to say that we will be taking applications first for captain from Station 19. We will consider these higher priority and first - above any other applications from outside the station."

"It is a bit irregular," the chief said. "We would also consider selecting one internal candidate if the majority of the station can agree on a single candidate, sidestepping the regular process completely - provided they meet the appropriate qualifications and can pass the captaincy exam."

"Our preference is typically for the most senior lieutenant, which would be Lieutenant Gibson. He successfully passed the captain's exam and scored well on the Incinerator." Frankel stated.

They watched as that news was absorbed and everyone's attention shifted to Gibson. He swallowed thickly, more pale than usual, and shook his head. "I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I recommend . . . Maya Bishop." Every head in the room snapped around to see Andy Herrera's reaction.

Andy raised her hand, daring anyone to speak. "I second that." There was a ripple of energy through the room. 

Frankel blinked. "You - you, Andrea Herrera, want the most Junior of all five lieutenants to be captain?"

The other lieutenant from the B shift, Martin, spoke up. "I support this as well." Maya was clearly surprised.

"Me too," added the C shift lieutenant Tutko.

"Gibson, if we may ask, why? You're the most senior lieutenants here and you don't want to be captain?" Frankel was struggling with his refusal. 

Jack appeared to want to disappear into the floor, but he steeled himself, "She's the best candidate. It was her plan that saved Captain Sullivan and Victoria Hu-er-Ripley. She spent the past several months getting to know the other shifts. She's clear-headed, focused, and career-driven. She knows the station very well. I couldn't ask for anyone better." There wasn't a trace of regret in Gibson's voice as he asked his ex-girlfriend to be promoted above him.

"Does anyone have any other candidates they'd like to offer up? Does anyone have any serious objections?" Chief Ripley asked. He hadn't expected Gibson to respond as he had either. Herrera on the other hand . . .

"None?" Frankel scanned the crowd. "I will allow people to email me any concerns. Your messages will be kept anonymous. Without any major objections, we'll begin a probationary period of a week for Maya Bishop to take the captaincy exam before she is confirmed as Captain."

Chief Ripley had another announcement. "Victoria Ripley is going to part-time for the next six months." 

There was another rumble that swept through the assembled group.

"She's having some type of event scheduled in two weeks - a personal one. And then she's going to be in the accelerated paramedic training program. She'll be working one aid car shift per week. After those six months, you'll have a full-fledged paramedic on your team. She'll work primarily A shift but may occasionally be over at the others." Frankel explained. "You'll be getting one transfer and two rookies on A shift after the personal event.

Ripley cleared his throat,"The 'personal event' chief Frankel is referring to is Victoria Ripley's 1 year vow renewal."

Franklin rolled her eyes. "Yes, it's a vow renewal. It'll look exactly like a wedding."

"We didn't want to rob the team of the promised party. The venue will be smaller than initially planned but should still be well worth it." he focused on the Captain-nominee. "Bishop, can you accompany us to the office?" He took one last glance at Herrera's and Gibson's faces. Both of them flinched a little.

"Absolutely, sir," Maya jumped her feet and walked to the captain's office. Her office.

She sat down carefully in the captain's chair as Ripley and Frankel stood nearby.

"Congratulations are in order," Ripley said. "Excellent work, Bishop. That was brash and brave work you did at the strip mall. I hope I don't see anything like that from you for quite some time."

"It was desperate, and it was a team effort. I couldn't have done it without everyone else's input."

Ripley chortled. "But you didn't die. I'm going give your last peer reviews and your file a once over - as will Chief Frankel. But I expect they won't be much of an issue confirming you within the week if you put some effort into the Captain's exam."

"I will do that, sir."

"I have more stations to see." Frankel threw a parting shot, "If you're going to stay here, Chief, you better put on your visitor's badge."

"I'm leaving shortly. She's post shift anyway," Ripley retorted. He waited for Frankel to exit. He spoke seriously to Maya. "Bishop. I usually would not speak to this, but it is necessary that I do so. This may make me sound like a total hypocrite but . . . please do not date any of your firefighters. Or firefighters from any other station. That includes Dearborne and Gibson."

"You can count on me sir. There's other fish in the sea."

"Very well, Bishop. Carry on."

He closed the door behind him. Maya sat down and took in the Captain's - her - office. It seemed a little bit unbelievable, but here she was. She spun the chair slowly three times and came back with a giant grin.

* * *

  
Ripley went out to go talk to his wife. Her uniform hung on her frame as she was still multiple pounds down. "So my application for paramedic training got approved?" She reached out to hold his hand.

"Yes. This is the first year we're offering the 6 month course instead of a year." He and Vic had decided to keep their future plans for Medic One quiet for now until she was well established as a paramedic in Station 19.

"So you're saying I'm going to be First Lady of the fire department and the First Paramedic of Station 19?"

"You've been the First Lady of the department for almost a year. As far as I'm concerned, you're always first," Lucas said affectionately. He began to move towards her and stopped when he saw the Herrera come by.

He stiffened, moving away from Vic. His voice was cold. "Hello, Herrera."

Vic was torn between the two of them. Andy's decisions had been poor to be sure. "Luke - stop. It's enough."

"He quit without saying goodbye to the team." Andy said. They both knew that she'd been avoiding Sullivan while he was awake and didn't speak to him even once after her confrontation with Ripley.

"Maybe you should have stopped by to visit him after he got out of the hospital, like Hunt and Warren did. Or maybe you hate hospitals so much that you couldn't even show up to support one of your own when she was dying."

"I said 'enough.' It's two weeks until the wedding. It's up to them if they can settle things between them first. And the the business between Andy and me is between Andy and me, not you and Andy." Ripley gave Andy his very best Chief glower. Vic nudged him with her foot. "Behave yourself or I'll give you a visitor's badge. I'll meet you outside, please."

"See you in the SUV," He couldn't quite contain his contempt for her lieutenant.

Vic waited for him to leave. She held up her hand before Andy could speak. "Yes, I know about you and Sullivan, and I don't want to talk about it. That's a 'you' problem, not a 'me' problem. No, I don't want to hear about how sorry you are not coming to my bedside or how much it reminded you of last year. I had hoped that after everything Ripley and I went through for you, you could have been there for me. For us. For him." Those words held plenty of reproach, and Andy wilted at them.

"I wish I could take it all back. I wish alot of things. I'm sorry." Andy sounded sincere. "I'm a terrible friend. I understand if you don't want me at the wedding."

"You were terrible on that day. Here's the thing. I was dying." Vic's voice went to a far off place, "I think I even might have seen your dad, helping guide me back. . . but if I got anything out of this, I'm not gonna sweat small shit like this. Being mad at you is a burden I'm not interested in having and forgiving you is easier."

"You're forgiving me, just like that?"

"You wanted me to make you perform 12 labors or something? I don't want to carry around resentment when I am so blessed to be here." Vic turned toward Andy, her countenance practically glowing with ethereal peace. "So yes, I want you to stand up for me at my sort of wedding to the love of my life, even if he's pretty annoyed with you right now."

"I screwed everything up. The team - they-" Andy faltered.

"Then start unscrewing things up." Vic pointed to the captain's office. "Step one would be apologizing to Maya for ghosting and congratulate her on making captain." She raised an eyebrow. "It's up to you if you want to tell her about you and Sully. That's between you and her. Not me."

That made Andy nod, and Vic stayed long enough to confirm through the glass a smiled conversation between the two best friends. It would probably take time for Andy to regain people's respect and trust, but it was a start.

* * *

  
Francis was sending an email in her office when someone knocked on her door. She said 'come in' expecting it to be Chief Ripley for a scheduled meeting and was somewhat surprised to see it was Jack.

This was the first time he'd visited her at work, ever. He seemed a little overwhelmed by her new ridiculously spacious office. He was confident on his own turf at the station but not here in the bigwig HQ offices.

She started to move toward him but he stepped back. She was dressed up since she had a press conference earlier this morning and a guest appearance on New Day NorthWest, Seattle's morning talk show, to announce the ongoing extension of psychiatric and psychological support for all uniformed firefighter and police personnel after the strip mall incident. Her clothes were much nicer because of that - especially since she had been wearing nothing when Jack left her place yesterday morning.

As usual, he woke up before her, giving her a vague sense that he had been awake a long time first. She'd simply rolled over and went back to sleep. That was a relief from the first week where she'd woken up with dreams of dark smoke. From what she had read in the reports the department was getting from their stations on overhaul, she was lucky. She'd been too terrified to actually comprehend the horror of the strip mall fire. Logically she knew that there had been dead bodies in the front of the bank, but her mind wasn't trained to recognize them - not the way all the firefighters had during the overhaul. After those first nights where Jack would hold her and reassure her she was safe, the fear had faded within a week for her.

"What is it?" she asked.

"We need to talk," Jack said. That sounded ominous. Before he had more to say on that topic, he searched her desk, "Where's your albuterol inhaler?"

"It's over here," Francis opened up the wooden wardrobe and on the top shelf above her Seattle FD polos, there was her inhaler with spacer. "Do you want to do the honors?" She didn't need to use it anymore but kept it in case per the Kepner protocol.

They both knew very well that she was perfectly capable of giving herself albuterol but he acquiesced. He pumped it once, held the spacer of her mouth for 10 seconds and repeated it a second time.

The simple action of doing something that he had been trained in made him relax. "I got offered a job as Captain of Station 19 today," Jack didn't sound particularly happy about it.

"Do you want me congratulate you?" she asked. He'd filled her in on his failed bid for captain 2 years ago.

"I said 'no,'" he announced. "I nominated Maya. She's going to be the Captain of 19, not me." He flopped down into one of her visitor chairs. 

She sat in another one next to him. "And you don't want to be captain?"

"I want to be captain," Jack admitted. "But there's other stuff."

"Other stuff?"

"Look at this office," he gestured around him. "This office is huge. I didn't have an office. I have a locker. If I want to be captain, I'd get an office."

"This is my first real office," Francis said. "I had a cubicle before. And Sullivan let me use one of the empty lockers at the station."

"I'm having flashbacks. PTSD flashbacks." Jack said quietly, but growing stronger with each word. "You, the bank, the skyscraper. Waking up in the middle of night, I put my hand out to make sure you're there. Sometimes I hear the PASS alarm. Sometimes I hear 'My Girl' play and I have to make sure you're breathing. Sometimes I see the shadows on the ground of the bank, and I know what they are. I know what they are."

"Oh," Francis said.

"Good thing you're a heavy sleeper. I feel like my heart is pounding out of my chest. I watched the chief at Vic's bedside all those nights and how his world was ending. I get how it feels, the way he loves her."

His girlfriend didn't say anything.

"The way I'm falling in love with you," Jack said. "I get it that, we've been together under four months. And they joke that I try to commit to every person who smiles at me, but after losing using you, I just - I can't stop myself. I didn't feel this way about Andy or Maya and G-d knows how many times I've watched them go into buildings on fire." He wiped a hand across his forehead, vulnerable in a way he'd never shown her before.

"You came here to tell me that you love me and you hoped it was okay and that you're going to stay a lieutenant and let me know your PTSD was getting worse."

He thought about that for a couple seconds. "That sounds about right . . . this is the part usually where my girlfriend sleeps with someone else or throws cake at me."

"I don't have any cake handy, not even cake number 10. Jack-" she started. "I-"

"It's okay if you're not in love with me." He said hurriedly, "I can hang out and wait until you're in love with me. I hope."

"Can you let me finish?" she tried again. "I think I'm falling for you too. When I look at you I see our next date. I see Easter. I see Fourth of July sparklers. I see kids. I see a Holiday Hop when I'm not pretending I don't know who you are."

Jack said. "When I see you, I see our house. Dean is sleeping in the guestroom when he gets in trouble with Maggie. We're having a barbecue with my friends and your twelve sisters."

"Three sisters and one brother," Francis correct him, "Yes - Our future."

He held both her hands. "So you're not worried about my PTSD? What kind of firefighter can't control his emotions - about fire?" 

"An hour ago I was on the New Day NorthWest to talk about the 50 firefighters that are struggling with PTSD after the strip mall. Why we need more leave time and more therapy for them. I can tell you that none of them had to leave their girlfriend inside a burning building."

He didn't move any closer to her. "I want to kiss you, but I'm trying to turn over a new leaf by not having sex with my girlfriend at work."

"Then how about we seal this with a platonic shake?" Francis suggested.

"I can wait till we get home before we seal it with a kiss." Jack wagged his eyebrows suggestively.

* * *

  
Gibson was coming out of Francis's office and ran into Ripley. Jack's smile immediately faded and he transformed into something else. "Hello, chief."

"Lieutenant Gibson," Ripley nodded.

"Hello, chief," Gibson repeated and then hesitated, "Was there something you wanted to say to me?"

He had noticed Ripley's disappointed surprise that Gibson had turned down an opportunity to become captain. Not that Bishop wasn't deserving, but it was rare to turn down a no-strings attached chance to be Captain. "Why don't you come in to my office?" Ripley offered. "I can wait a little before I see Ms. Smith."

They turned around and headed back to Ripley's office. He gestured for Gibson to sit in one of the more comfortable visitor chairs. "What would you like to talk about?"

"Sir, I want you to know I respect you, but can you speak freely about me?"

"I will try," Ripley couldn't quite promise.

"Did you expect me to be Captain of 19 today?" Gibson got to the point.

"Honestly, I didn't know," Ripley admitted.

"I'm the most senior lieutenant."

"Gibson, I've known Sullivan was resigning for months. The original plan was to go through a full captain's race, exam, Incinerator test, everything. It didn't mean you were going to be captain."

"But you guys didn't do any of that. You ignored protocol and invited us to select our own Captain - with Frankel's approval."

"That's true," he said. "But, I didn't expect a unanimous consensus for you to be captain. I figured there'd be some type of disagreement, probably between you and someone else."

"Do you mean Andy - I mean - Lieutenant Herrera."

"There were a lot of variables." Ripley wasn't going to discuss her current status at all. "I can't say that the past Captain's race was particularly fair to either of you."

"What do you mean?"

"Herrera never should have been considered; her promotion to lieutenant by her father was completely irregular. I should have paid closer attention and not allowed Frankel to allow her to be promoted and then compete with you. Alternating shifts as captain - that was ridiculous."

"And yet both of us lost out at being captain. Why?" Gibson couldn't help but ask.

"Do you want to hear off the record?"

"Yes," Jack responded.

"Neither of you were ready to be captain because you were too easily emotionally involved. You punched out a patient and Herrera disobeyed me to send you the elevator because she was emotionally involved with you. Captain Herrera refusing to recommend either of you didn't help."

Gibson was turning that over in his mind. "So you're saying my emotions are a weakness?"

"You haven't reached the level of maturity yet to be captain. You're a superior firefighter, a good lieutenant, and someday you may be an excellent captain. The A shift lieutenants have some emotional blind spots that need to be worked before you go before that next step."

"Me and Andy, not Maya?"

"Let me put it this way. As a lone firefighter, you bond with yourself and your partner and with mildly lesser extent to your team. As the lieutenant level, you bond the most with your team and are emotionally closest to them. At the captain level you care for your team, but you have to look at them as having strengths and weaknesses and how they will fit best into the scene - Bishop has been doing both, I think you'd agree, which is why you picked her. At the battalion chief and above level, the stations are each the entity and you can't focus on individuals anymore. Where do you think you are on that continuum?"

Gibson asked, "So all of this in my file? Emotionally immature?"

"No, your file states that you were not selected and remain on track for future command," Ripley said, "Does two years ago matter that much when you yourself refused the promotion today?"

"I don't want to be Captain, all right." Gibson's voice was flat. "I'm one of your 50 firefighters."

"50 firefighters?" Ripley asked.

"Yes, the 50 firefighters struggling with the strip mall fire."

Now Ripley could get the sense of the larger problem. Gibson's PTSD had been challenged by the firestorm - there hadn't been a big scene that rivaled that high-rise in two years. He wanted to know if Ripley had marked him for it and taking the massive step of informing the fire chief, gambling that Ripley could see his perspective.

"I never had a family growing up - foster care. The Station became my family, and maybe that's why I'm so wrapped in them. But, watching the firestorm, seeing the strip mall burn and knowing I couldn't save her; it was worse than being trapped in the vent at the skyscraper. " Gibson's voice changed going to the day when he'd watched the sky burn.

"It's terrible, I know. If I'm off, I go to her place every night instead of my own because I can't sleep not knowing that she's safe. If she's asleep and I wake up, sometimes I keep checking her. Make sure she really there. How did she survive when 200 people didn't . . . And I'm so happy she isn't dead. I'm so happy she's there. Then I'm completely ashamed that I'm so happy they died and she didn't. What kind of man does that make me? What kind of firefighter does that make me?"

Jack glanced back at the chief, embarrassed now. "I'm sorry sir. It's not even what you asked - "

That was when he noticed that Ripley haven't even twitched -wasn't even breathing. In fact, his face had completely drained of all of its color.

"Sir?"

Ripley exhaled slowly. "I know, Gibson. G-d I know. And the fire chief's not supposed to feel that way either."

A long moment passed between the two of them, with it a deeper understanding.

"Is it - was it bad?" Gibson asked carefully.

"The first week back was hard for me, but with some counseling, it's receded alot. . . but the way you said it, for a second, I was right back at square one, scared to leave her alone for a minute. That my life will end if hers does." Ripley's color slowly returned.

"I worry sometimes that I'll never move out of square one."

"I'd love to tell you it's going to be easy, but it won't be. You weren't the only one who struggled with the skyscraper. Someone jerk had to decide to leave you in there to die, even if it was his job. That guy had enough guilt for six people."

"Vic knows?"

Now Ripley laughed, "That was the day she decided I was worth a damn. . . And here we are."

"It worked out for you too, healed and whole now."

"Nothing is ever whole. She had plenty of guilt after Captain Herrera died, why him, and not me?"

"But you overcame it," Gibson paused, "You two have overcome way more than average."

"It helped that we were together," Ripley said. "She's one hundred percent sure we're going to be together forever."

"I want that too. And Francis said-"

"You told her? Did she tell you to hit the road?"

"Not a chance," Jack said. "I think she spent too much time with Vic." He had a small smile. "She's quite determined."

"She seems to be." Ripley inclined his head, "Thank you for sharing your situation. I won't speak to Vic of this, unless you tell me to."

"I appreciate that sir. And your candor. Sometimes you need to know where thing stand with the big boss. Thanks."

* * *

"How's the new job?" Ripley asked ten minutes later at their planned meeting.

"It's new. My office is nicer," Francis was happy she'd had some time to reset her mindset after that discussion with Jack.

"Any word from Fitzpatrick?" he asked.

"No," Francis said, "These secretaries said she came by with security escort and collect her things. I'm checking records to make sure she hasn't taken any confidential information."

"Why do you say it like that?" he asked.

Francis said. "Fitzpatrick trying to use this job to get ahead. She seemed to believe that you had no ability or incentive to stop her."

"I'm the chief of the fire department. Why would she think that?"

"I don't know. If she tries anything, I think she'll try it through Vic.

"Fitzpatrick did try that - with the pretty good results, too. 

"Our forensic computer team is going to open her hard drive and the shared drive and examine what's on it. They'll also pull up any recently deleted activity."

"Are you really concerned about this?" he asked.

"You confronted her in front of large group of reporters right before you fired her, twice. That's her lifeblood. And her livelihood."

"So-" he said after a moment's consideration. "I think I'll have a word separately with the mayor about Fitzpatrick's behavior related to reproductive rights in case she considers taking Fitzpatrick's side, though right now it's certainly low priority." He pointed to the updated SFD maternity policy brochure on her desk, now without Vic on the cover. "But you are right, she seemed to believe that she could do whatever she wanted. That's a great deal to bet on our desire to keep Captain Herrera's manner of death quiet."

"I thought the goal was protecting Andy - I mean, Herrera."

"I'm not sure how Pruitt would feel about us continuing this."

"Are you going to go on record you say that you lied?"

"No," he said carefully. "I always maintained my memory of the events were hazy because of my concussion. All of which are true."

"Did Vic lie?" she asked.

"That depends on your point of view. Not lying, but omitting," he said, "She is and was an unranked firefighter who was commanded by the Incident Commander and the fire chief, her husband, not to reveal the extent of Herrera's involvement. NOSHA usually doesn't go for the little fish following orders." He passed Francis a folder of papers. "I want you to read this. First one is the updated interdepartmental dating policy. The second one is from Frankel and Nelson, not my work."

She skimmed the file and stopped, "Sir, I'm not exactly qualified for this-" Last year she'd been in charge of matching linens and arranging caterers as a PR underling, thinking she was going to someday end up working in advertising or something. Possibly moving back home to Chicago. But now she was dealing with the spin on matters with much higher stakes.

"You're the head of PR now. You have a meeting with legal and my assistant chiefs in 30 minutes." He winked at her. "I'd feel bad I have to throw you in the deep end, but it is what it is."

"I won't let you down, sir."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was that for a surprise? If we were supposed to consider Andy for Captain if she was a lieutenant for a whole day. . .
> 
> Did you like that Ripley and Jack found something to bond over? In context it made sense since this is the type of thing that would trigger PTSD. I was never happy with how the show abandoned Jack s PTSD.


	9. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The wedding is coming soon and some truth starts to come out.
> 
> Explicit discussion about sex and bondage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After all the planning that Francis did, you are about to get a sense of what has changed for this new upcoming event. Also, Gymboree filed for bankruptcy so there are plenty of open stores to be used.
> 
> Thanks to Station19 writer and Sem for all their recent feedback.
> 
> The DRESS  
<https://www.jjshouse.com/Trumpet-Mermaid-V-Neck-Sweep-Train-Lace-Wedding-Dress-002127261-g127261>

  
Francis's email to she was writing before Jack came by.

_To: all members of the bridal party_

_Date March 7, 2020_

_Subject: vow renewal and attire fittings_

_On March 21st, you are invited to participate in the vow renewal of Lucas and Victoria Ripley. Due to technical difficulties with the wedding dress and most of the bridesmaid dresses/tuxedos being consumed by fire, alternative fittings and arrangements are being made at the temporary home of La Belle Elaine's bridal shop at Pacific Place 600 Pine Street Seattle. Please stop by for your final fittings and dress uniform adjustments. Stand by for official evite to the vow renewal. _

* * *

La Belle Elaine's had temporarily relocated to Pacific Place at an old Gymboree. A few knocked down walls to enlarge the fitting room stalls, and they were back in business. Fortunately all the computerized information had been backed up. When it was confirmed that the wedding/vow renewal was rescheduled, they simply rush reordered all the dresses for the bridesmaids and arranged new tuxes for the non firefighter groomsmen of the bridal party. Lucky on several levels, their seamstresses didn't start fittings until mid morning, so they weren't in the store on that fateful Valentine's day. 

Travis and Levi were at Levi's tux fitting with Gibson and Dean who came by for alterations to their uniforms. "Looking snazzy." Dean gave himself a slight flex in the mirror.

"On a scale of handsome to devastating, how would you rate me right now? Just asking. I think I need a haircut. Maybe trim the mustache?" Jack examined his face critically.

"It's only a vow renewal," Travis reminded them. "It's not a real wedding."

"It's not like you have bigger plans . . . do you, Jack?" Dean gave him the hairy eyeball. "Don't think I haven't noticed you haven't slept in your bed for weeks. Half your clothes are missing and so is your favorite coffee mug."

"Unless he does have plans. Is she a flowers and rainbows type of girl that likes kitten proposals? Or someone you are sneaking around in the storage closet with?" Travis teased.

Jack said. "All above board. No sneaking around. Not dating someone at the station."

"So you don't think HR is going to have an issue with you dating the head of PR, the spokesperson for Seattle FD?" Travis still needed verbal a 'no secret relationship' confirmation.

"We filed the paperwork immediately, back in December. . ."

"Is that why you didn't want to be captain? Because of her?" Dean asked, having been wondering since the meeting but hadn't gotten a chance to ask because Jack hadn't come back to the houseboat.

Jack turned an interesting shade of red. "It's not because of her. Well, maybe a little bit because of her. Not because there's something wrong with me dating her, but more that I want to spend more time dating her. Even if that means I don't get to be captain."

Travis tried not to sound too disappointed "So all that stuff we had to deal with two years ago with the captain's race, the possibly right girl comes along and you decide to not be captain?"

"Not captain right now. Maybe someday I'll apply the regular way, do the Incinerator again. I don't think I'm ready right now. It's been barely a year since I came back from my . . . break." That mollified his team who were all very aware of his PTSD struggles.

Levi decided to have a word. "I understand. You see, sometimes you got to grow some more. Start wearing contacts. Break up with a dude. Move out of your mom's basement." He reached into his jacket and took out of keys. "This is for you."

"I do see," Travis accepted the key happily. "No more Mommy dearest?"

"She's still 'Mommy Dearest,'" Levi corrected him. "I just don't live in the basement anymore."

"Good man, doesn't let his boyfriend take shots at his mom," Dean observed. "You're short but cute."

Levi was confused. "Is he hitting on me?"

"No. I reserve the right to recognize how attractive people are in any form."

"Speaking of attractive in any form," Jack said. "You and Pierce?"

"Me and Pierce nothing. Not talking about it."

"You want me to talk about Francis, and you won't talk about Maggie? You two aren't taking advantage of my not being around?"

"Hello, gentlemen." A voice said behind them behind them. Three other members of the wedding party had appeared, Warren, Hunt, and Sullivan, who had greeted his former team.

"Warren, Medic One treating you well?" Hugs were given all around but at Sullivan, Travis paused. "What do you want us to call you now?"

"Robert or Sullivan is fine. You don't have to call me 'sir' or 'captain' anymore."

"Technically you retain your rank, just you're not _our_ captain anymore." Dean offered, correctly noting that Sullivan's body language screamed 'NO HUGS.'

"With this back brace on, I'm nobody's captain right now. I'm a cog in the wheel at Operations now." Sullivan answered with resignation.

The team could see that something had changed in him. The friendlier looser Sullivan of December and January had been replaced by one that seemed even sadder and more brooding, if such a thing was possible.

"Hey, Bobby, Linc says it's only for another week. You'll be out of it in time to dance at Luke's wedding or whatever it is," Owen said. "Let's get these penguin suits done."

* * *

The bridesmaid dresses arrived with 48 hour shipping. Maya, Kat, and the ladies of Grace Sloan went together right away - DeLuca was the designated driver of Meredith's SUV that day. Jennifer had actually had her dress at Ripley's house so she didn't need to be refitted. Her alterations had been done in Oregon and hadn't been at La Belle Elaines.

Only Andy and Vic dragged their feet about coming in. Francis had waited a week before sending them their second, third, and fourth reminder emails and text messages. Vic loved that Francis, despite having a massive new job, still found the time to harass her with wedding to-dos. It was reassuringly familiar after everything they had been through.

Vic's wedding dress selection was somewhat truncated because of her 10 final dresses, only two of them were available at this short of notice. She ended up selecting a floor-length scalloped lace white dress with elbow length sleeves. It lacked much of a train, and it did pass the Heimlich maneuver test prior to her original selection. It had been on her list of evening reception options, losing out in fourth place. Vic liked it well enough, and she cared more about her groom than the dress, so it would be more than enough.

Andy agreed to drive because Vic's red Jeep hadn't survived the fire, and Ripley insisted on being her driver most of the time if Travis didn't volunteer. Even though Maya and Andy were talking again, Vic wasn't quite sure why Andy had avoided the dress fitting with her friends.

Both of them went to their respective rooms and tried on their dresses. The seamstress checked Vic's measurements, acting displeased.

"What is it?" she asked.

"You are skinnier. I'm going to have to take the dress in. You've lost three inches from your waist and two inches from your hips and chest." She indicated the relatively modest neckline.

"I did almost die," Vic reminded her. "My boobs got smaller."

Andy wasn't having a better time. She came out to stand next to Vic on the raised platform. The red dress seemed extra tight this time, mostly over her chest.

With a raised eyebrow, the seamstress measured Andy's hips, waist, and bust again.

She stopped and measured for a second and a third time too.

"Why is it so tight?"

The seamstress gave her an 'Are you kidding me' expression. "I have seen this before. Don't you know?"

"No," Andy said. "You must have gotten Vic's and my measurements mixed up."

The seamstress glanced over at Vic. "I did not. She is 6 inches taller than you and has a smaller chest."

"That's not possible. That can't be right."

"I see," the seamstress said. "I will let the bust out. The wedding is in two days, correct?"

"Yes," Andy said quietly. The seamstress nodded and made herself scarce.  
.   
"You're-" Vic exclaimed.

"No. I'm not."

"That's why you didn't want to be captain. Does Sullivan know?" Vic's mind was working fast. So much was making more sense now - why she avoided the fitting, why she was hiding from her friends, why she hadn't tried for Captain.

Andy blushed but didn't try deny it, "No. He can't know."

"Wouldn't he have noticed if the condom broke?"

Andy snorted bitterly. "We didn't use one."

"Like once? At my bridal shower?" Vic asked. "We're past the point of pretending you didn't hook up at our house. We found his watch. How did you forget a condom?"

"It was spontaneous. We saw you two in the reflection of the TV; we were drunk and -" Andy was redder than her dress now, admitting the circumstances of that first hookup.

"You're going to blame not using a condom that time on us?"

"Umm, that wasn't the only time. I mean - we only saw you two together once. But we . . .umm . . . never used protection. So many times."

"Nothing?" Vic was more shocked by this than the voyeurism reveal. "That makes you his - "

"His bunny? Is that what you wanted to hear? That I used to go to his place on all of our off nights and let him do whatever he wanted with me. Feminist, 'as good and strong as the guys' Andy Herrera. He would order me around and I would let him control me. Anything he wanted, however he wanted for as long as he wanted. And I loved it. I loved having him call all the shots and loved when he filled-" she stopped herself. "It doesn't matter; it's over."

"Why?" the wheels were turning in Vic's head.

"Because it couldn't go on. He was the captain. It was clear that he didn't plan on it being more than that - his emails were clear on what he thought of pregnant female firefighters. Besides, no one continues relationships that are like ours unless it's a bad movie. Nobody actually ends up with the person that they . . ."

"First of all, the emails were about sending me to paramedic school and research Frankel wanted for the new maternity policies. They were trying to increase how many women stay in the department after having children," Vic disagreed vehemently. "Second, you have a skewed perspective about what is normal because Jack and Ryan were wimps when it came to you. You steamrolled them into dancing your tune whenever you wanted. They were convenient for you and obviously nothing about this with Sullivan is convenient. There is nothing wrong with wanting the guy to be in charge of the sex and really enjoying it. Maybe you both are wired that way - for him to dominate and you to submit to him."

"I've never had this before. Does Ripley-"

"Keep me tied to the bed begging the chief to give it to me hard?" Vic played with her fingernail. "We try not to share our stuff, but you already saw . . . let's say there is a better chance he's tied to the bed than me, though we don't resort to that too much. He's usually pretty willing without role play."

"That isn't helping me."

"You asked, but it's us. It doesn't mean it would work for you. Now be honest, did it work for you?"

"Best ever, which is how I got here. I let my need for him control me. He wasn't out of control."

"You may think he's in control. But if he actually touched you . . . he was no way in control. Do you think it happened that first time at the bridal shower?" Now she was talking about Andy's 'condition.'

"Probably. The dates are right."

"That explains why Lucas is been so pissed at you, beyond not visiting me." Vic indicated Andy's lower abs. "How did he figure it out?"

"I told Pierce how much iron was in the prenatals you kept in your locker. I couldn't tell anyone that I snooped in your bathroom and he guessed that only a pregnant woman would know how much iron was in prenatals."

Vic whistled. "That's why he's the chief. Saw through your lie since we were trying to be so secretive about it by keeping them at home, not that it helped us."

"But you aren't pregnant."

"Not yet." Vic eyed Andy's chest. "Still, I gotta ask, does he actually tie you to the bed and beat you with a whip? Is that safe to do still in your condition? Asking for a friend."

"I'm not doing any of it right now. And it's personal."

"Yeah, not accepting that from the person who told me she watched me have sex, and it made her horny enough to jump her superior officer."

"Fine, he doesn't hurt me exactly. I get tied up or restrained sometimes, occasionally physically punished, but it's mostly coercive - he yells at me, treats me like a subordinate, does things without my permission, makes me . . . beg for him." Vic was waaaayyyy too interested now. "It's safe. If it gets too intense, we have a safeword."

"Which is?"

Now Andy flushed even more. "It's more 'words.' 'Station 23 Response Time.'"

That made Vic laugh, "Millions of word combinations in the English language and you two picked that?"

"We were drunk at the time. After that, it kinda stuck."

"That's not all that stuck." They both started giggling for a few seconds before standing in silence. "So what's your plan here? Your next move? I mean he'll see you at the wedding. Don't you think he'd notice?"

Andy shook her head. "I'll stay away from him, hold my flowers close. I could text him the day after to meet up. We're all off. Operations will be closed; I certainly won't be hungover."

"That plan hangs on you staying away from him. Can you?"

"I hope so. As long as he doesn't touch me or kiss me or-"

"Grab you and screw you against the wall?" Vic inquired saucily.

"Vic!" Andy exclaimed. "I've managed to stay away almost 6 weeks now - except the night he showed up at my new place or when he was in the hospital . . . other than that it's only two more days. . ." her words trailed off. "What if I never tell him?"

"What? How? You think no one will notice you aren't pregnant in a few weeks?"

"No one noticed when I hid out in the captain's office to hide my morning sickness. What if it's not his? Maybe some other guy's - umm - Brad's?" Andy was reaching.

"Andy . . ."

"Don't you get it? If it's not his, and, we wanted to date, now that he's not my superior, the department would take it better." This idea was building steam. 

"Isn't that a reach to build an elaborate lie? You think he'll be okay with that? To lie to protect your careers? Don't you think he'd care?"

"I'm trying to help him. He's off active firefighting. He's off the command track by transferring to be an administrator. If the department finds out he slept with a subordinate, it will kill his career." 

That made Vic want to yell. She couldn't spill that Sullivan was being groomed for battalion chief. She only knew because of Lucas and someone of her rank wouldn't be allowed to share that. She tried logic instead. "He will never go for that. Do you think that's the kind of man he is? To not claim his child? Is that who you think he is?"

"People think that I was a heartless bitch for not speaking with him at the hospital, but he was facing being paralyzed, starting a new job. It wasn't right to put the burden of this on him - 'hey, you aren't a firefighter anymore, don't put on turnouts or you may never walk, and I'm three months pregnant which will get you fired.' We never talked about birth control; he never asked; I never told. That would make this my fault."

"It still took two of you," Vic said. "He's a grown ass man. He could have asked you what you were on or brought his own protection. You two could have actually spoken to each other and avoided all of this. But what you should have done doesn't matter now. You can do this pregnancy two ways, one with him and one without. What do you want?"

"I don't know what I want," Andy said tremulously. "I want to be wanted by him. I want to loved. I don't want to trap him into this. I want him to pick me and this baby because he wants it, not because he has to."

That made Vic sigh. In the heart of it, Andy was searching for love and was still not sure how to find it. Too scared to take it, but unable to walk away. "You couldn't have made this easy, could you?" She snickered slightly.

"You're not mad or disappointed in me?"

"I don't think I get to tell anyone how to live their life - you're a grown ass woman too who gets to make her own decisions and deal with the consequences. You and, only you, know what you have to do to make this right."

"This new, wise, back-from-the-dead Vic that goes between sage advice and sex questions is quite the philosopher."

"No problem. Want me to tell your fortune? Or guide your path with a Magic 8 Ball?" Vic closed her eyes, placing her hands on her temples in 'psychic' pose and intoned solemnly in the voice of Yoda. "Time it is to realize that I have nothing you do not already posses. Only clarity." 

Andy bowed her head. "Fine. I get it. I have to tell him. . . I am going to tell him, in my own time and my own way after the wedding. I wish everyone will see it that way." Andy didn't have to say outloud - 'like Ripley.' "Can you not say anything until afterwards?"

"Until he knows the truth, my lips are sealed." Vic promised.

"Thank you," Andy said. If she had been thinking more clearly, she would have interpreted Vic's words differently. That did not mean what she thought it did.

"Let's get out of these dresses. The seamstress will kill us if we make their alterations late." Vic climbed down of the platform.

* * *

  
_6 weeks ago_

Andy knew she was late. She was always on time. She and Maya were the same. But now she wasn't because she was two weeks late.

Two weeks late.

The problem with living with another firefighter was that there are no secrets. Or at least not secrets you can keep at your own home. Maya probably believed that she left at night to clean out her father's storage unit. That was true. She'd work for about an hour every night. But Maya definitely did not know then that she would go to Sullivan's afterwards and let him enjoy her to the fullest. He definitely filled her up many times.

Which is why she had gone to the dollar store and paid for a dollar store pregnancy test. She'd dropped off some ice cream makers at Station 12 first and then met Vic at Starbucks. Ever since she saw the prenatals in Vic's bathroom, she couldn't stop thinking about it. There was no way she could ask Vic or take the test at home.  
  
That was also why she was taking a pregnancy test at Starbucks. Starbucks were everywhere and this is probably not the first time this has happened. She obviously could not be leaving this in the trash at home. The same way that she had deliberately selected her normal number of tampons and never used them - tossing them in a dumpster. All of that she'd done without letting her brain compute the idea that she was actually late. Now, however, she couldn't avoid the thought.

She looked at her watch. It said 3 minutes. Apparently if you buy the expensive test it only takes one minute. But it doesn't really matter if in 3 minutes or 1 minute to find out how fucked up this is. This is why sleeping with the boss is probably a bad idea. No matter how good it felt. No matter how much she enjoyed being his sordid thing. Is all inappropriate boss sex this amazing? Another question she couldn't ask Vic. (Though based on the sexing she'd witnessed at the bridal shower, the answer was almost certainly 'yes.')

One minute. So many questions.

Do angry silent widowers propose to the person they regularly dominating? Is that a real thing? Does 50 shades of Grey reflect reality? Does a spicy Latina plus a chocolate bar equal adorable brownish babies?

Maybe it won't be positive. Hadn't felt different. Didn't have any nausea. Andy tested her own chest. No, boobs all the same.

Two minutes. Andy couldn't remember the last pregnant firefighter she'd heard of. Vic had always immediately addressed rumors that she was pregnant. Three times in the past year, she had met with Sullivan and told him in no uncertain terms that she was not pregnant and did not need to be limited on her activities. If anything she was more active in working out harder than before. Taking prenatals could be to prepare for the future.

3 minutes was up. One positive sign. Now she felt nauseous. She threw up her coffee. Andy carefully wrapped the test up and tossed it in the trash can. Probably not the first time that it happened at Starbucks either.

Andy walked outside and made her excuses to Vic before leaving. She knew Vic, who was actually a people person, could see she was upset, but Andy held it in and mindlessly parked at a McDonald's. She checked her phone. Should she text anyone? Should she tell anyone? She read somewhere that people usually can't tell someone is pregnant until they're four months along. Half of pregnancies end in miscarriage in the first trimester. There's nothing to tell. Nothing to tell him.

Would he be into it? Was it best to let him know quietly? Should she tell him in Spanish? Would he like that better? Was there an upside? Would he be happy? Or would this kill both of their careers? Could they be fired? It's not like they could hide the evidence.

She could get it taken care of. Even the thought repelled her. It would make her father roll over in his grave. His little Catholic mija, his first grandchild. Absolutely not.

She probably wasn't really going to end up being pregnant. She had a hard job; she probably miscarry. So she don't need to say anything. Tell no one. Get a better lay of the land. See where the smoke was rising, check out the fire.

A small part of her recognized that she was being absolutely ridiculous. Probably. She couldn't go full on panic panic. Put it out of her mind. It might never happen. Better to wait and see what happened. He didn't need to know until there was something to know. And right now the only thing to know was that her body was making a couple extra chemicals.

She was meeting Kat and Vic tonight - he knew she wasn't coming by - she had a shift tomorrow and then he was coming in the next day. She tell him then. Definitely tell him then. No excuses.

Unless you open an email written to the battalion chief from your lover and find out exactly his opinion on pregnant firefighters.

In which case you break up with him. Then you buy the same brand of prenatal vitamins as your co-worker and hide them in **YOUR** locker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The dollar store sells 3 min pregnancy tests. I checked.
> 
> This harkens back to the original story where Maya and Andy thought Vic was pregnant because she didn't have cycles anymore - she had depo.
> 
> To clarify the timeline, Andy didn't recognize that she could be pregnant until she saw the prenatals in Vic's bathroom. After she got the results, she went out with Kat and Vic. She had planned on telling Sullivan she was pregnant the day he had the flower for her, but broke up with him. She wasn't going to the dress fittings because she was worried her friends would notice that she was at least 3 pregnant and wouldn't be drinking.
> 
> If you weren't familiar with the term Andy used to describe herself, it basically meant that she and Sully's particular kink was to have completely condom-less sex. If the bridal shower wasnt clear, there were zero condoms or discussion of despite . . . completion.


	10. For Better or For Worse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day of vow renewal has arrived. How will things go? Who makes big moves? Who has surprises in store today?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're keeping track, the Grey's people are referring to Cristina and Burke's wedding, April and Mathews first wedding, Cristina and Owen's Wedding, Izzy and Alex's wedding, Arizona and Callie's Wedding, Meredith and Derek's wedding post-it/courthouse, Ameila and Owen's Wedding, Alex and Jo's first wedding which included a dead body, going to the wrong wedding, and a ferry boat. There have been multiple hospital weddings.

Via evite -

_You are invited to the one year renewal of Lucas and Victoria Ripley._

_Date: Saturday March 21st, 2020 at 1600_  
_Location: Station 19._  
_Reception: Atrium Grey Sloan Memorial._  
_Attire: Semi-formal, uniformed personnel may wear dress uniforms, no scrubs please._  
_Dinner: chicken or salmon with vegetarian option available please indicate in response._  
_RSVP: Francis Smith Francis Smith@SeattleFD.org_  
_Individuals may bring their plus one. Babysitting will be provided. Please indicate number of children in response._

_Registary: None. They already have enough ice cream makers._

* * *

  
The vow renewal, formerly known as a fire wedding, was actually held at Station 19. Dispatch had agreed to transfer all calls to other stations in the battalion, giving Francis three days to decorate the barn.

Francis's hired workman to build a raised terrace for the bridal party. The guest list was considerably cut down to a mere 200 people which included all of the upper SFD and Grey Sloan shareholders. A considerable number of the female firefighters and some of the officers of Battalion 2 were included in the invitees. Seattle PD and the Mayor's office and the news channels were noticeably absent from the invites. (A new fire commissioner had been elected last fall and wasn't even on their radar.) The official SFD home page and twitter account thanked everyone for their interest and left one photo of the Vic's dress, since the winner had actually burned up. According to Francis, it had already sold out at eight different bridal shops around the city within 24 hours of her post.

The bride's party was getting ready in Grey Sloan while the groom's party was doing their thing at Joe's bar. The men of Station 19 were going to wear their dress uniforms the whole time instead of changing into tuxes. Nor was there going to be a cocktail hour before or after the ceremony.

Undeterred, Meredith Grey brought more tequila to the ready room and and offered Vic the option of running away if she needed it.

"I'm fairly certain that's requesting a divorce." Vic from behind the dressing room door where Maya and Andy were helping her get on her wedding dress.

"You would not believe how many weddings I've been to you. Weddings where the groom ran away. Or the bride ran away with butterflies and her ex boyfriend. Weddings were the bride almost had second thoughts, weddings where I tried to convince the bride to run away."

Dr. Bailey took another swig of her tequila. "Don't forget sometimes when they find a dead body and get married on a ferry boat instead."

Maggie said, "What about the lesbian wedding I missed?"

"Chemotherapy weddings. Post-It note weddings." Bailey remembered.

"Hey, that one ended up with a courthouse wedding," Meredith corrected her.

"Weddings we crashed. Weddings in the hospital," said Bailey.

"I was at one of those," Travis said.

"Me too." Jennifer was in her red dress already.

Maya opened the door to the dressing room, humming, "Here comes the Bride."

She stopped when Francis shook her head; Maya remembered why that song wasn't in the wedding program.

Vic came out in her lacy dress and it was perfect. She really didn't need any jewelry beyond the ring on her neck and the one her finger. Her hair was pulled back with the veil in place, displaying all of Ms. Vincent's hard work with her hair and makeup. Andy was behind her, helping her manage the relatively short train that would be hooked to the back of the dress at the reception.

They handed her bouquet of peonies. Travis didn't need to carry a bouquet because he was giving Vic away.

Kat squealed, "You guys look adorable."

"Thanks, Kit-Kat," Vic said.

Maya gave Andy her flowers as she stepped around Vic. Bailey cast a very specific glance at Andy Herrera. She turned to Meredith. "Do you see what I see?" she said under her breath.

"Oh yeah," Meredith confirmed quietly. "This is going to be so much fun. Time for a toast, ladies!"

"I think we still have to make it to the wedding. I mean, vow renewal." Andy said.

"Let's save it for the toast later." Vic agreed

"Come on, we'll be fine this way," Meredith pretended to whine.

"You are not going to drunk at my fake wedding ceremony." Vic accused. "I went through a firestorm for this. I think I died three times."

"Lightweight. I held a bomb in the body once, survived a plane crash, got assaulted by a patient, and I died a few times when I almost drowned. But fine, it's your day."

Andy mouthed a silent 'thank you' to Vic.

* * *

Back at Joe's, the beer was flowing freely and they didn't have a PR minder to keep them from indulging, except the groom who was ferried around by his best friend. Lucas dreamily moved from place to place with this quiet slightly, dopey smile on his face. He kept playing with his tie tag - "I am my beloved and my beloved is mine."

"You ready Luke?" Sully said. "Wife number three."

"Wedding number four - or five," he responded. "Can't wait."

"Me neither." Sullivan said. "I have a lot to say for my toast today."

Luke addressed him seriously. "You feel like you're ready for this? No matter what happens?"

"I believe that's my line. Ask you if you're sure you want to go through with this."

His best friend said nothing for a second. "I don't think you can ask me if I want to go through with this if I've already done it."

"You've done it so much." Hunt added. The three of them had become relatively good friends. They were near the same ages, they survived plenty trauma (the medical kind), and had plenty of dating trauma and drama probably 10 people.

Conversation stopped when Jennifer entered and held out her hand to her brother. The men lined up and walked the one and a half blocks to Station 19.

* * *

  
Seattle FD's five battalion chiefs, the deputy chiefs, and assistant chiefs waited patiently for the appearance of the bridesmaids. Members of Seattle FD, the Grey Sloan surgical department, and one very specific restaurant manager waited in folding chairs. Catherine Fox gave a brief welcome to the group since the program had been considerably cut down.

A small but tasteful string quartet played as Francis Smith, in a not-quite-bridesmaid shorter red dress, stepped out of the notorious Grey Sloan limo. At her signal the groomsmen walked down the aisle one by one to line the C side of the dais, commonly known as the right.

Jennifer Ripley walked down the aisle with a smile on the arm of her beaming older brother.

Only then did Francis let out the bridesmaids. First out was Kat - all smiles holding her bouquet of white peonies in front of her. She was followed by Grey, Bailey, Maggie, Maya, and Andy.

Andy held her flowers close, fully aware that Sullivan was staring at her. He could tell there was something different. He thought he should be able to see it, but he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.

There was a moment of silence as Francis signaled the Story (since Mendelson was not less Anti-Semitic in the ensuing month) to begin with the string quartet.

Victoria Ripley with her best friend Travis Montgomery walked slowly together down the aisle. Francis wasn't wrong when she said it didn't matter what she put Vic in because the moment she saw Ripley waiting for her, she was glowing.

To Lucas, she was radiant. He could not remember seeing anything his whole life more beautiful or more perfect. His wife coming towards him, her eyes flashing with that look that he knew was his alone, undimmed through the veil.

It had been such a long year leading to this moment. But there he was, blues eyes shining, yearning for her at the end of the aisle. All the close calls, all the losses, all the sacrifices had brought her to this moment. And him.

They really could have stood there gazing at each other, but there was a ceremony that needed to occur.

The Grey Sloan chaplain was delighted that they were back together and still alive since their last meeting, pulled out his prayerbook and began to read.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to reaffirm the union of Lucas Ripley and Victoria Ripley in holy matrimony, which is an honorable estate, that is not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently and soberly. Into this estate these two persons present have been joined."

"If any one can show just cause why they may not be lawfully joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

No one in the audience moved. How could anyone object after everything the two of them had faced? Francis grinned, catching Jack's eye.

"Who gives Victoria to be married to Lucas?"

"I do, her best friend, Travis Montgomery, standing in as her family," Travis presented her to the chaplain formally.

Travis lifted her veil, folding it back with his eyes starting to fill. She unfastened her chain and handed him the officer's ring. "For the person who deserves you," she said. Near tears, he placed Vic's right hand in Lucas's left hand that gleamed with the silver ring that had been his own.

"He's your family." Travis murmured, knowing that she couldn't hear him now. His heart swelled with joy for her, seeing the unadulterated worship in Ripley's contanence.

"Do you, Lucas, reaffirm your commitment to Victoria to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live?"

"I do. In this life and beyond," he said. A tear started to stream down her cheek, recognizing the echo of his words to her while she was in the hospital.

"Do you Victoria reaffirm your commitment to Lucas to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live?"

"I do. In this life and beyond," she repeated.

"Do you have a ring for the bride?"

"We already have - " Vic started to say since Lucas's original ring selection was perfect for work.

"Yes, I do," Lucas pulled out a plain gold wedding band. "To complete the set." The traditionalist in him wasn't going to let her engagement ring be denied its wedding band.

She glanced down and saw it was engraved. 'I am my beloved and my beloved is mine.' Her eyes were wide as he slipped it on her finger.

"Very well, Let these rings be given and received as a token of your affection, sincerity and fidelity to one another."

"In as much as Lucas and Victoria have consented together in wedlock and have witnessed the same before this company, and pledged their vows to each other, by the authority vested in me by the State of Washington last year, I now re-pronounce you husband and wife."

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I again present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Lucas and Victoria Ripley."

"You may now kiss your bride."

And what a kiss it was. Two people without reservation overjoyed to have found each other in love.

For onlookers who were not watching the happy couple, they were getting a different type of experience. Particularly from the wedding party.

Jack was making eyes at the PR representative, Dean and Maggie were staring at each other, Grey winked at her boyfriend, Travis only occasionally glanced at Levi. Hunt looked for Altman or Amelia in the audience. Maya noticed Charlotte Dearborne and Carina DeLuca in the audience sitting a few seats apart.

The definitely most interesting thing to watch was the growing suspicion on Robert Sullivan's face. Andy Herrera carefully kept her gaze on the bride and groom while the best man fixated on examining her.

The recessional played and best man did not wait for Jen. He stepped past her and linked his arm through Herrera's. She flinched and kept her flowers in a death grip. . . By her waist.

With a shrug the bridal party reordered itself. Travis decided to walk with Jen, Dean with Maggie, DeLuca with Meredith, Ben and Bailey, Levi and Kat, Dean and Maggie, and Hunt with Bishop.

The original plan had been for axehead salute. Chief Bailey on the second go-around nixed that idea. She said that since most of her team would be at the wedding, she really didn't want to have ortho and neurosurgery miss the party because they were trying to put somebody's hand back on.

Instead, the replacement exit was into a shower of red hots. Rice was not considered due to environmental dangers for the birds. The Grey's limo welcomed the bride and groom. The doors closed to drive them separately to the hospital main lobby while the rest of the wedding party and guests were planning on walking the three blocks on foot.

* * *

  
They ducked into the limo where Vic grabbed Lucas by his uniform lapels, landing him on top of her for a high quality kiss. Chauffeur Jim, with a long standing sigh, closed the door and climbed in front. When they came back up for air, Vic's hem had been had been pushed halfway up and Ripley weakly said to Jim. "Can you drive a couple blocks in the other direction?"

"Sure thing," Jim said, and yet again rolled up the privacy screen.

Lucas took in his wife, tumbled on the back seat, her thigh-highs and garters visible to his roving gaze.

"What are you thinking, Mr. Ripley?" she teased.

"I'm thinking that the thing I want from you may not be possible without shredding your dress."

"Can you do a little bit? I almost died and I'm not interested in what 'may' not be possible. Let's make it possible since I'm going to spend every single minute I have from this day to my last day. Because I love you.

That made him smile. "I know."

She attacked him with a bunch of kisses. "Did you seriously one up my Game of Thrones joke with an Empire Strikes Back joke?"

"Guilty," he said. "Though I think I'm behind on my TV shows and movies. I'll have to find some time to catch up on the new Star Wars movies."

"Later," Vic agreed and the kissing started up again. It took him about five more minutes to get her garters off and give her a one handed orgasm, complete with hickey on her left shoulder by nudging the sleeve out of the way. No one said anything when they arrived back a little late.

In fact, Maya's only question was "Where's Andy?"

However, the best man and bridesmaid had disappeared.

* * *

  
They hadn't disappeared. They hadn't left the station. Sullivan had essentially dragged her into the captain's office. It already looked very different then it had under his tenure. A gold medal with a plastic knife hung on the wall behind the desk. He pulled her into the bunk room and pinned her against the door.

Sullivan wasn't sure why he'd acted this way, but she was hiding something. Whatever it was had to be big. The fact that she'd avoided him completely only convinced him that their unfinished business needed attention now.

His eyes were filled with a very familiar and very dangerous fire. Andy raised her chin defiantly. He met that defiance with an incendiary kiss. Her lips opened under his, welcoming him with weeks of pent up frustration, even though she'd told herself getting close to him was a horrible idea.

As usual, he didn't ask, he took. And Andy gave. Unzipping her dress, her breasts tumbled out into his hands. He suckled each breast, teasing them with his tongue. She purred in the back of her throat and helped him pull her skirt up.

Despite his back injuries, he had no trouble plopping her on the captain's work desk- basically a shelf that she could brace herself on while she got screwed against the wall. Andy was having no issues undoing his belt and opening the front of his dress pants. Robert tore off her thong, lurching forward. He entered her immediately wrapping her legs around his waist. His hands skated from her heavy breasts down to her hips, steadying her as she writhed against him, begging for more.

Fantastic. Motherfucking fantastic to have him back inside of her doing what he did so well. Making her give it to him.

Reveling in the feel of her, he noticed a difference and then froze mid stroke. Sullivan realized that those hips he was holding were more full than before. The same way that her breasts were considerably bigger than before. And pressed against his abdomen a small soft swelling . . .

He couldn't put together a truly coherent thought about this because they were both so close. Couldn't consider what this meant or consider what to say.

She knew the moment he noticed the changes. But she didn't give him a chance to take a breath. She dug her fingernails into his chest and clenched her vaginal muscles. "I've been a bad girl, Captain."

"You're in so much trouble, Lieutenant." That was the straw that broke her control and he followed her, shooting off into her - bare. Just like the two of them liked it.

Just like. . .

He staggered away. She grabbed some Kleenexes off the desk and quickly wiped herself off. She tossed her thong in the trash and managed to shove her skirt down and zip her top up.

He hadn't even gotten his pants up before she was gone.

Seriously fucking escaped him gone.

He thought back for a couple minutes. She had been lying to him for months, avoided him, screwed him, then freaking escaped without saying a word during his best friend's sort of wedding.

_ **BECAUSE SHE WAS PREGNANT WITH HIS CHILD!** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anyone is wondering, Andy is 16 weeks pregnant. As a first time pregnancy and being very fit, she would be able to hide things for a while. The first trimester appears mostly in the bony part of the pelvis so it is difficult to see. How soon you show depends on how much weight you gain, how tall you are and what number kid. Andy has been avoiding her own team and hiding in her apartment for the past 5 weeks. 
> 
> There's that TV show about 'I didn't know I was pregnant' which is a bit ridiculous. (Its easier to hide a pregnancy if you are really heavy, fyi. )


	11. For Richer or Poorer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The wedding of the year continues on the the reception. Who's going to step up to the plate?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have a long memory, I Don't Want to Miss a Thing was Sullivan's and Claire's song as mentioned in Summer Preview. The Nickelback song Ripley plays for Vic over Christmas and its music video is all about firefighting.

Francis gathered the bridesmaids together with Vic in the dressing room to make sure their clothing was photo-ready. Andy arrived after the bride, flushed with her hair somewhat messier than it had been before. Vic kept quiet as she rushed by.

Andy got Meredith's attention who followed her to a private corner, "I need new panties."

Meredith checked behind Andy. "What happened to them?"

"I ripped them by mistake." Andy was trying to salvage her updo.

"Ahh," Meredith responded knowingly. "Am I going to find them pinned on bulletin board at the fire station?"

"I fell and tore them. Without ripping my dress."

"You need to put some powder on your cleavage," Meredith said quietly. "Because right now it looks like somebody helped you fall, maybe several times over." She took a pair of panties out of her bag and helped fix Andy's hair.

* * *

  
The men were waiting outside the women's dressing rooms. Sullivan arrived with several different emotions crossing his features.

"I take it you had a chat with Herrera," Luke observed. He had rebuttoned his dress uniform after Vic's enthusiastic attentions.

"You could say that," he said. He faced his best friend. "Did you know, Rip?"

"I suspected since the hospital, but she wouldn't answer."

"She is," Sullivan said.

"Are you sure? Did she tell you?"

"No. She was different," he searched for the right word. "Fuller. Ripe."

"Oh."

"I could tell. When Vic and you are," Sullivan took a shuddering breath. "Believe me, when you are, you'll know. You'll be able to tell. Tastes different too."

"Really?" Rip forgot to be supportive for a second and asked that with a great deal of curiosity.

"Her mouth." Sullivan clarified. "I can't believe this from her."

"There's probably an explanation in here somewhere." Rip said, "But could you not ruin my wedding to find it?"

"I can do that. But she and I will be having a discussion later."

"You're my best friend, and you're certainly don't deserve this, but I have your back. I always have."

"Good because I expect you to be godfather."

Francis led the women out and immediately read the tension in the room. She altered her plans quickly, having the photographer do a men's and women's shot with the bride and groom and then a single group shot. She skipped doing all types of couples except the bride and groom. The family photos were limited to with and without Jennifer and Travis. They did a Best Man and Man of Honor shot and a single Station 19 group photo with Sullivan and Andy far apart. Sullivan was able to control his sullen expression between shutters as he ran the spectrum between blind rage and intense longing.

There were a couple moments in the photo session where Vic was standing with Sullivan because Ripley was getting his photo alone with Jennifer. Since Vic wasn't blind, she had a solid guess of what had gone down between Sullivan and Andy after the ceremony.

"You know?" Vic whispered, not making eye contact with Sullivan.

"Yes," he said grimly. "A baby. My baby."

She stood in front of him and pretended to adjust his dress uniform. "It doesn't matter what happened in the past; it only matters what you do now. You have 3 hours to stake your claim. If you give her time, she'll start freaking out and try to run. Again."

"It's up to her-" he paused. "Relationships are between equals. . . I can't go ahead and unilaterally-"

Vic rolled her eyes. "Neither of you took control and see where you are now? She likes it when you're in charge. You need to get out the starting gate first, and later you can figure out your equality stuff. You know what you have to do. You just have to decide to do it."

Sullivan contemplated her advice, studying Andy during the bridesmaid photo shoot. Yes, some of this was his fault. It had never entered his mind to ask her about protection. They'd both enjoyed their finishing move bareback and with her dating history constantly in his face, he never imagined they were using nothing . . . If he were honest with himself, they both had enjoyed the relative danger and forbidden nature of the experience. But now, there was so much time wasted, waiting for her to make a decision. He'd given her plenty of space and time. Vic was right. He knew what he had to do.

In Vic's mind, she did not have one iota of guilt for Andy right now. Andy had gotten in her own way enough in her relationship with Sullivan. If she'd been paying closer attention, she would have realized that new philosophical Vic had used some exact words. "Until he knows the truth" had nothing to do with waiting for the Andy to tell him.

Francis loaded everyone in the elevator to reach the outer edge of the Grey Sloane Atrium.

Since it was a Saturday night, Bailey had no trouble arranging the reception in the Grey Sloan main atrium. There was an open bar and settings for the bridal party on a raised platform. The closest circular tables included the top brass of fire department and multiple members from the Grey Sloan family. Babysitting was being provided at the request of the Chief. Care was not being given by the interns, James Haskell has been allowed to hire some of his favorite local babysitters.

The wedding favor - not original wedding favor Fitzpatrick had insisted on - etched wine glass with a candle - had been replaced with a high ball glass containing a bunch of fireball candies and a folded piece of paper. The center piece was a note from the doctors of Grey Sloan stating that the drink of the night was either the 'Girl on Fire' or 'Man-Mosa to be drank in that exact cup, all made with fireball whisky.

Lining everyone up to enter, Francis handed them each sparkler. "I have bowls of water at the end of the aisle for you guys to drop them in. Please don't burn yourselves or set yourself on fire. We also have fire extinguishers and alot of firefighters. "

Apparently, Francis got to pick all the music since they entered to '_Thunderstruck_' by AC/DC instead of any songs with 'fire' in the lyrics.

"And I present you, Mr. and Mrs. Ripley." Francis announced as the glowing bride and groom led their wedding party down the central aisle with sparklers held high. 

Lucas welcomed everyone for the first toast of the night. "I wanted to thank all of you coming to a vow renewal. This is our one year anniversary of our marriage at Grey Sloan. I'm lucky that all of you are here to share this moment with me. It's been a rough past 12 months. I want to give special recognition to Francis Smith for her hard work and organizing this while fulfilling the duties of the spokesperson of Seattle FD. I thank the staff and family at Grey Sloan Memorial, Station 19, and the Seattle FD for their part in this. I would like to thank our best friends Travis Montgomery and Robert Sullivan and my sister Jennifer."

"Even more I want to speak to someone who without his contribution today would not be possible, Captain Pruitt Herrera. As you know, he cannot be with us today. He was a leader to his team, a father to Vic and myself and his selfless sacrifice made today possible. Part of being a leader is owning my mistakes, telling the truth and getting behind it."

Vic looked at him, hope, happiness, and relief suffusing her face. "You may not know that during a coffee fire last year, I was tempted to break protocol and enter the building. Captain Herrera refuse to let me do so and took my place. He ended up being exposed to the toxic chemicals that ultimately ended his life. Then he continued to work tirelessly at the scene while I was hospitalized. He asked to keep his part quiet, but by doing so, we have not been honoring the spirit or his integrity to fail acknowledge what he did."

"Because that was who he was. Father, Captain, leader, his honesty, honor, and integrity that we hope will be his legacy in both his station and in his beloved daughter Andrea." Lucas pierced Andy with a single keen glance. "**_Honor and integrity_**. I hope to return it in kind and preserve his legacy." He raised his glass to said beloved daughter and drank. Vic was on her feet, kissing him, relieved to finally be free of the burden of the secret.

If Andy could have spontaneously combusted, she would have. In under three minutes, the chief had exposed the secret of her father's death, took responsibility for his demise, and shamed her for her lack of scruples with Sullivan - all the while making it appear he complimented her. Maybe he was a Sith Lord.

Jennifer stepped up, "Usually this moment would be reserved for the parents of the bride and the groom, but unfortunately both of them are kind of short on that so I guess it's up to me as his younger sister to say some words. The two of them have spent a lot of time together and apart figuring out if this is what they wanted, and it was. Within the department they learned that the family could be with themselves and everyone around them. They're entering the next stage; I hope for smooth sailing calm waters. Welcome to the family." She hugged them both."

"Excellent speech," Travis pretended to shuffle 40 pages of paper. "As the Man of Honor, it is my privilege to say a couple of words about this couple that I love. When I first met Vic, she seemed young, wild, and unpredictable. She's been my best friend for 3 years now, she's not as young, not as unpredictable, not so wild now as she is focused and fulfilled. I've known the Chief Ripley longer, but only have learned to know him better through the love that he and my best friend share. Together they're stronger and better than apart. I'm honored to participate in a sliver of their relationship. All of the best."

Sullivan took his turn. "Robert Sullivan, formerly of Station 19. Rip and I go back about two decades. We've been through alot - happy times, sad times. Through good days and bad, I carried things sometimes more than I should, but we found friendship again in some ways because of Victoria. Her presence and her willingness to accept Rip for who he is put us back together and has changed my life for the better. I'm honored to be a good friend of this couple as it returned me to my best friend. May your future bring you joy, peace, happiness and, if you desire, a whole passel of children."

That may have had more meaning to Vic and Lucas if Sullivan hadn't been addressing a specific bridesmaid at the table past the bride and groom when he said it.

The guest cheered and whistled. A chicken and salmon course was served; it was not the insane extravagance that have been planned originally. Vic had the chicken, and Ripley had the salmon. As per their tradition, they quietly stole food off of each other's plates.

After everyone had the meal, Francis stood up, "It's time for the bride and groom's first dance - at this particular vow renewal." Vic internally snorted at that since Francis was referring to their engagement party which was their actual first dance.

As they took the floor, Sullivan spoke into the microphone. "I can't play the guitar, but you did this for me at my wedding and now I give this to you. The song used to be mine, but it's time to let it go a couple that loves each other very much."

At his signal the DJ put on Aerosmith '_I Don't Want to Miss a Thing_.' They had never really practiced this specifically, but since they had danced together often in the past year, she did a slow one handed spin before he claimed her into his arms. She actually did put her head against his chest on the part about the heartbeat. His arms enfolded her a couple minutes as they swayed and spun, simply being in that moment forever.

Francis had reclaimed in microphone. "Beautiful. If we could now have the bridal party take the floor. You'll be dancing to '_Far Away_' by Nickelback as requested by the groom." Apparently press conferences and reports weren't the only thing Francis has been meeting with Ripley about. Hilariously after all the fake wedding planning Vic had endured at Station 19, Ripley ended up being the one actually involved in planning this vow renewal. "Please meet with your designated partner."

Everyone came down, but it did not work out as anticipated. Jack picked up Francis and carried her down the stairs. Travis ran over to Levi, Sullivan captured Andy before she could retreat. Dean, Ben, and DeLuca claimed Maggie, Bailey, and Meredith. Hunt ended up with Jennifer and Kat and Maya good-naturedly partnered each other.

Jack and Frances were probably the happiest while Jack attempted to not step on her toes. The person who was visibly distressed and was attempting to hide it was Andy whose partner had become quite possessive and was wearing a full on glower. She stood, barely swaying as if she had been caught - when in truth - she was in a cage of her own making as she rocketed from frustration with him to craving for him and back again. 

When the song ended - before anyone could leave the floor - Jack got down on one knee in front of Francis and held out a simple princess cut diamond solitaire in a white gold setting.

"Marry me," he said. "No kittens."

She reached out with an unsteady hand, "Yes."

The bridal party cheered. Dean exchanged high-fives with Jack. Andy took that opportunity to forcibly extricate herself from Sullivan while she, Maya, Kat, and Vic all embraced Francis.

Vic finally ended up with the microphone, "Time for bridal party group dance." She signaled the DJ who started playing Vogue.

This time, Meredith, Deluca, Ben, and Bailey joined in. Dean partnered Maggie with Kat pairing with Levi and Maya with Travis. Sullivan kept Andy front and center as they had before. However, at the end instead of doing the lift at the end, Sullivan opted to swing Andy against him and thoroughly kiss her instead. She instinctively responded, letting it go on until the music faded.

Laughter came to complete and screeching halt. Everyone finished their dancing, but it was clear that a gauntlet had been thrown. The realization came upon Andy when Sullivan released her and she started breathing again. He had unilaterally declared their relationship in front of the Chief, top brass, her battalion chief, and all of her co-workers. There was no way to walk this back. He was clearly mad as hell at her for not telling him about her pregnancy, and now she was good truly caught.

"That was great," Francis with false brightness. "Excellent work. Now the regular dancing can begin for now. If you look in your wedding favor, that piece of paper is the HR form to declare an intradepartment relationship. There is a box to drop them off right next to the wedding presents. If you need more than one form, please feel free to email me tomorrow."

With the mandatory bridal portion of the dancing over, Sullivan and Andy sat together not speaking, his hand resting on her knee. Maggie and Dean went and sat at the regular tables with Alex and Jo Karev to avoid them. Jack took the microphone out of Francis's hands and made out with her instead.

* * *

  
Detaching herself from Jack, Francis was later able to announce the family dance of Travis Montgomery with Victoria Ripley and Lucas Ripley with Jennifer Ripley. Appropriately, Francis had selected '_What a Wonderful World_' by Louis Armstrong.

Ripley put his arms around his sister and sweetly swayed to the music with her. He wasn't going to show off any of his new dancing skills on his sister.

She was smiling, but tears kept slipping down her cheeks.

"Jennifer?" he asked.

"It's okay," she said. "I'm happy for you. You almost died last year; this year she almost died. It's just. . . I'm happy I'm not alone in the world. Happy for you. But man, I wish Mom and Dad could see you today."

He kissed the tears off her cheek. "They missed my first two wives so this is the one I hope they're actually watching. Vic said when she was somewhere near death, she saw Chief Herrera who died last year. If she saw him, then I'd like to think they are watching."

Travis and Vic, however, decided to treat it as a bit more of a showcase of all of their hard-earned dancing skills over the past year, his more than hers. They actually practiced at the station here and there. Levi had occasionally stopped by and gave them ballroom dancing advice, apparently that was one of the presents he got for his bar mitzvah.

Meanwhile, Maggie was fiddling with the tablecloth avoiding Dean's eyes while the Karev's went to the bar.

"Maggie?" he touched her hand.

"Yes?" She sounded frightened.

"I'm not going to ask you to marry me," Dean said.

She let out a deep breath, releasing tension she hadn't known she had. "Oh. That's good."

"Yeah, getting married isn't really a peer pressure type sport." He spoke slowly. "I was wondering with Jack moving out, if you would like to-"

"Move in with you?" she asked loudly.

"I was going to ask instead if you wanted to have your own drawer or two at my place. Figured we'd start with the drawer and maybe sometime it would be another drawer. And maybe a closet. And then maybe you move in."

"I think I'm ready to start with two drawers. And my own caddy in your bathroom."

"You have yourself a deal, Dr. Pierce," he said.

"And I want to bring sutures to practice when I'm there."

"I don't know - you're moving a little fast. Do practice sutures happen during the Battlestar Galactica you're bringing?"

"I can throw that in. And some Twilight Zone."

"You can talk nerdy to me anytime" he said.

* * *

  
When was time to cut the cake, rather than the traditional multi tier white wedding cake, it was a giant chocolate sheet cake, techinically cake #12, better known as Dean's birthday cake. The bride and the groom flat out refused to smash the cake into each other's faces. They offered Francis and Jack the option who declined.

"No more cake throwing. At least I know which cake I do want for a wedding," Jack said with his arm around Francis.

'_Single Ladies_' by Beyonce played when it was time to go throw the bouquet. Bailey herded a bunch of her interns that been trying to flee onto the floor. Maya, Maggie, and Kat dragged Francis out there despite her protests that she didn't need to be there because she was finally engaged. Andy didn't get to go out to the event because she was now being held firmly on Sullivan's lap.

The first attempt with the bouquet toss had the women deliberately part, and it landed on the ground.

Dr. Bailey walked over picked it up and fixed everyone with a baleful glare.

She handed it back to Vic and said "Try again." She pointed her two fingers at her eyes and then at the crowd of ladies. "It's bouquet, not a proposal."

This time when Vic threw the bouquet, Meredith and Maya shoved Kat in front of them to ensure that it ended up in Kat's hands for kicks. 

Next up was the garter toss. Travis dragged out a chair for Vic to sit down on. Her husband came over and placed his hand on her knee. However, rather than actually moving her dress, he opened up his jacket and took the garter out of his pocket.

That message was also quite clear. 'All mine, you can't see.'

He threw it into the crowd to the tune of Baby Got Back. And the surprise recipient was Kat's date - David Mayhorn.

Vic felt slightly responsible for that because she and Andy had introduced the two of them over a month ago. Of all the guys of Station 23 she could have picked, who knew how she picked him? He towered over here by almost a foot and a half while they danced to Chasing cars by Snow Patrol - Grey Sloan must have picked that one.

After 815 pm, six members of the Wedgewood and Rainer's arrived with their wives and claimed the microphone. They thanked Victoria Ripley for inviting them and gave a blessing in Hebrew for their marriage. Under their direction, Sullivan and Mayhorn were selected to hold up the material divider this time since they were the tallest.

Levi and Maya put two chairs on either side and ushered Vic and Ripley onto them. Hava Nagilla started up, and the happy couple was given a heck of a ride when they were lifted into the air. If one was wondering, it's an extremely tiring experience to lift up the chair and the enthusiasm of the carriers tends to almost catapult the honoree off the chair. Fortunately, when being attended by multiple male and female firefighters, keeping the chair aloft wasn't difficult, except Vic and Ripley had to hang for dear life.

The whole thing became a massive circle dance of doctors, firefighters, and on the women's side, the wives. The Wedgewood and Rainer guys demonstrated some amazing breakdancing moves that no one thought they had in them. The two sides carried Ripley and Vic to the divider getting their heads above it. Vic and Lucas linked their hands over the cloth and shade a brief, bouncy kiss before they were borne away. Carina DeLuca started to lose her grip, and Charlotte Dearborne steadied her and helped her lift up chair again. 

At the end of the song, the divider dropped, and the Wedgwood/Rainer guys and their wives bowed, leaving to collect the 30 kids from the suddenly overwhelmed babysitting room. "Husband, you are the ultimate popular fire chief." Vic teased him.

"It's the maternity-paternity policy," Ripley explained. "Nelson is over the moon that he had bunch of his guys apply for lieutenant, and there are two new Jewish recruits in the academy this year." 

Next Francis made an announcement, "I promise this is the last big one. The dance is called 'The Dollar Dance' where you pay a dollar to dance with the bride or groom. Monetary payment is at your discretion as long as its over a dollar. Usually the money goes to the couple, but instead they want any money donated to supporting all of the first responders who are struggling with depression and anxiety after the strip mall incident. They know they were blessed and fortunate to have made it out alive, and the pain their fellows must feel of not being able to save the others."

The DJ started playing some basic background music, mixing little Michelle Branch, with some Brandi Carlile and Lifehouse. They limited the dance to about 15 minutes, because that was all that Vic and Ripley were willing to do. (Fitzpatrick probably would have made it a 30 minute dance and a full on fundraiser) Ripley danced with Maya, Frankel, Kat, Dearborne, Jo, and Meredith. Andy Herrera was noticeably absent in her decision to not even pay a dollar to dance with him. 

Vic danced with all of the groomsmen and most of the doctors from Grey Sloan. Anyone who didn't belong to her Station though was given a bit of a stink eye from Ripley and that included David Mayhorn, who quickly dropped out of the line. Not even any of the male battalion chiefs where interested in dancing with Vic, though Haskell danced with Ripley, and Frankel danced with Vic in teasing retaliation. Just to one-up everyone, Carina, Dearborne, and Meredith then went ahead and danced with both of them. The whole thing dissolved into giggles when Meredith pretended to run back and forth between the two of them by adding more and more money each time and cutting in line.

True to her word, Francis surrendered the microphone and got off the stage on Jack's arm. Andy and Sullivan were no where to be seen.

* * *

  
Andy was laying on her back, almost naked on a desk in a nearby office, moaning. Sullivan was above her, his phallus teasingly butting up against her soaked center. "Lieutenant? Is this what you want?"

"Yes." The truth came tumbling out of her. She wanted to come now, and he was teasing her on purpose. Five weeks of celibacy had broken down completely, and she was remembering why nothing felt as good as this. Sitting on his lap and then him sneaking her out of the atrium for these last 15 minutes of angry captain foreplay was a drug that she couldn't give up. 

"I want to move in. Tomorrow." He dragged himself across her curls, not even trying to enter her. "I could give it to you everyday."

"Captain, Robert. I'll give you anything you want. Todo lo que quieras hacer (Anything that you want to do)," Andy opened her legs wider and pulled his lips down to her naked chest. "Please."

"I want you let me into to your home. Into your bed. Into your life. Because you need this. All the time." His statement reverberated against her skin.

Andy should have been really angry. He'd ambushed her, taking control of their relationship. Right now she did not care. The dress was off with nothing but her shoes on. Robert, himself halfway out of his uniform, rolled her onto her stomach, and bent her over the desk. She whimpered slightly, needing him inside her. Despite her taste after the ceremony, it only ratcheted up her appetite. Honestly, she was more than happy to give herself to him with almost no resistance. Once he touched her, the sections of her brain in charge of decision making gave up.

Sullivan slid himself home, letting her clench against him with a fast orgasm. This is one of her favorite parts. He would pound her until she went again, milking him dry. Okay, that was a lie. It was her favorite part. Neither of them could stop once they started.

This time though, he did no such thing. He shifted slightly allowing the electricity to shoot through her. His arms were around her chest and his voice was in his ear. "Not yet, Lieutenant," he whispered. "I'll hold up my end of the bargain when you hold up yours." With that he stepped away from her. "You're welcome to try to convince me otherwise."

Andy responded very well to that. Even months since their last full night together, she knew exactly what he was doing to her, denying her, edging her. In this little game they used to play together, she'd get on her knees to convince him. Depending on his mood, he'd let her work him over before he worked her. By avoiding his cock inside her, he'd bring her off by fingering her or eating her out. Usually her reward was eventually a solid pole in her quim, but it seemed like he had no intention of giving her that. As ordered, she took the flared head into her mouth. Per his normal, he dug his fingers into her hair, guiding her head and bobbing her lips across him. 

"Eres mi buena nina sucia que era muy traviesa.(You're my good little dirty girl who has been very naughty)" The words rolled off his tongue - who except her knew that her ex Captain mostly used his Spanish to say only filthy things? "Lieutenant, now you'll do what I want. That's my baby in your belly from when I came inside of you. You're both mine. I'm going to have you. I can wait as long as I need to. . . Because I know you want this too. Chupas mas fuerte. (Suck harder)."

Was this a little embarrassing at how non PC and totally old fashioned it was? Still, she loved this game - being without it was being so unfulfilled. If she had to trade some of her freedom to be completed; she could do that. The past weeks had been hell and she didn't care if her friends considered her dick-whipped or a sex doll. Vic at least would get it - what it was like to be sex-drunk for days. She'd understand what it was like to want him to own her, posses her. 

She didn't even hear the door open up behind her. And she honestly didn't care either because he was shooting his load down her throat.

As she pleasured him, Sullivan smiled in satisfaction. He wasn't going to let her go now. She was good and hooked. All he had to do was not screw her again and keep her right where she was. He had a solid chance of getting all of his stuff moved in tomorrow and getting her agreement to let him claim the baby if she was still in her sex-ed up stupor.

He was fully aware that she wouldn't have made any of those choices without this pressure . . . but he'd long known there was no going back once he touched her the first time. He would do whatever it took to keep that way. He'd had six weeks in heaven followed by 8 weeks of hell so no way on earth he was going to let her try to run again. Vic was completely right, no point in debating the past - he could only move forward now, whether Andy had planned on it or not.

Speaking of Mrs. Ripley, Sullivan saw the visitor was Vic. Her gaze flicked down to Andy's almost nude form. Their eyes held for a few seconds, as he half expected her to say something. Instead, she winked and gave him a quick thumbs up, retreating outside.

So he had Vic's tacit support to lock Andy up now. It was unlikely he'd be able to lock things up as well as Gibson had done today, but that was a thought for a time when he wasn't mid blowjob.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Hora/chair dance is 100% accurate, though rarely done at non Jewish weddings. 
> 
> If it wasn't clear, Vic told Sullivan to keep Andy on the hook with sex and figure their stuff out later. He listened . . .
> 
> Supposedly pregnant women taste like pennies or something. My husband denies this.
> 
> And finally, Vicley is going on a honeymoon!
> 
> if you must know there's an entire list of things from the Fitzpatrick plan that did not survive into the wedding. Smoke machines, gone. Fire hazard wedding favor, gone. Allowing people to vote on the music, gone. Trip to Oklahoma, gone. Axe-head salute, gone. Crazy amount of food and drink, gone. Wedding cake, gone - replaced by grocery cake. Wedding program sponsors, show ring. All gone. Invocation by Catherine Fox and Brandi Carlile singing, gone. Dress voting, gone.
> 
> Grey Sloan still did get their favorite fireball whiskey drinks, and Vogue ended up being danced after all.


	12. Now and Forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The wedding reception winds down as new directions open up for our favorite couples.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter and now you figure out what Ripley has been working on with Francis.
> 
> All the honeymoon flights are real. There is no red eye from Seattle to Hawaii. Reggie was a liar.

_Minutes earlier._

With the dancing going on and the open bar, Vic decided to see if she could sneak away with Lucas for a couple of minutes.

They went down the hallway and tried a couple doors. Door number one she opened, made a motion that Lucas didn't catch, and shut very quickly. "No, not that room."

"Really?"

"Not unless you want to see your best friend getting head from my naked lieutenant."

Lucas gave a full-on exacerbated eye roll. "Can't see the freaking hands off of each other even if she's a stone cold liar."

"I actually think she's being punished right now."

"What?"

"Do you guys not actually talk to each other about sex?"

"We talk to each other only that we're getting it, not specifically about it. He doesn't know anything about your preferred positions or 'Chief Hughes.' He never actually told me he was dating her, officially. Same way she didn't tell him she was pregnant when she knew."

Vic rolled her eyes back at him, "He's not exactly innocent in this. It takes two to tango and, let me tell you, their preferred position had this as the outcome. That's why I know she's being punished."

"Interesting form of punishment. She's doing that because he wants her to be sorry?"

"Pretty much. He gives orders; she follows. Works for them."

"It's not coercive?"

She responded by pushing her own body against his. "Sometimes if your superior officer is ridiculously handsome and you really want it, then you'll take it whatever way you can get it. And I think she seems to like the way she gets it from him."

Privately she felt this was not her cup of tea, but considering term that Andy had used to refer to herself, Sullivan almost certainly denying her that - especially since that was something he was in total control of. He'd probably withhold only that until Andy broke down and was willing to acquiesce in other ways as well. If Sully played his cards right, there was a good chance Andy would commit completely, thus giving Sullivan exactly what he wanted anyway.

Vic was not going to share those details or suspicions to Ripley though. Technically it wasn't their business and considering how Ripley felt about Andy right now, it was better not to discuss it. She hadn't told Lucas about the circumstances of Andy's and Sullivan's first encounter - seeing them on the couch during the bridal shower. Lucas wouldn't be pleased at all. 

"Let's let them do their thing, and see if we can find a way to do ours," Vic gave him a horny wink.

"Next door," Ripely suggested with difficulty.

Behind door #2 was Travis and Levi. The one after that had Dean and Maggie. Door #4 had Maya and Carina.

"I had no idea that sneaking out of our own wedding to have sex would be this difficult." Ripley was getting annoyed.

"No one else seems to be having a problem. I heard there is a radiology room on the fourth floor that has locks," Vic wondered outloud.

"I don't think we can get that far. How about we leave instead?" Ripley was moving to a new objective.

"Should I ask for the check?" She gave him a kiss which went from somewhat naughty to downright primal 'let's get you naked.' By the time it ended his hands were back under her skirt, and his dress blues were half unbuttoned, again.

Luke was positively haggard. "We're leaving now. At best 10 minutes of circulating. Say our goodbyes, and we are gone."

They spent seven more minutes saying good-byes to their dwindling wedding party and numerous guests. Of their missing grooms people, only Sullivan and Andy reappeared holding hand and significantly more disheveled than before. Andy was practically slack-eye while Sullivan was more than triumphant.

Vic and Ripley had almost extricated themselves when Francis stopped them. She grinned knowingly at them, taking in the state of Vic's hair and dress. Rather than saying anything to Vic, she passed them a large envelope and Vic's overnight bag that had been in her dressing room. "Your wallets and round trip tickets to Vancouver and Hawaii. You are scheduled for two weeks off."

"Sullivan said something about it. He said I was using ten days of vacation."

"It may be less. Since the new flexible maternity/sick leave policy started, it will be an interesting calculation, especially since you'll be on special training assignment when you return. Depending on how your new captain calculates your work hours, you may not spend any time. But since today is your new hire date, you will be starting over with three weeks of vacation."

"Hmm, Sully worked all of that out? He might get sneakiest award this year."

"Unless Maya beats him for it." Francis indicated the envelope. "You guys are in the penthouse suite of the Four Seasons with a view of the Space Needle. Your flight leaves tomorrow at 810am non stop to Vancouver and then your Hawaii flight a week later. It's a 2pm flight from Vancouver with a stopover in San Francisco. You'll find it all in your itinerary."

"As cool as surprise honeymoons are, I haven't packed anything other than my overnight bag." Vic complained.

"Already done." Francis said. "Travis has a key and took Maya with him."

Unexpectedly Vic hugged Francis. "Thank you. I wasn't sure about you at first, but you ended up being a pretty awesome friend."

Francis agreed. "We've come a long way this year, though please don't make me hold fingers again."

"I don't think you and I will be on aid car together anytime soon. Unless you decided to become a firefighter," Vic offered.

"Too much HR paperwork if I'm marrying a lieutenant." Francis declined.

"It looks like you're going to have an awful lot of new HR paperwork on your desk from tonight. Assuming that Andy and the captain come up for air to fill theirs out." Vic teased.

"I'm sure Bishop can give her a few days off since she never took time off when her dad died," Ripley said. "It will at least make her unavailable when we see how my toast plays out."

Francis addressed Ripley directly, "When you had me write that toast for you, I remember it saying 'honesty, truth, and integrity' about 75% fewer times."

He played dumb, "It was time to tell the truth. There's gonna be hell to pay for it."

"Maybe not. I read the amended NOSHA report we're submitting and discussed it with legal as you asked. The mayor's office and the police department owe you plenty. She almost died, and you saved the city from burning down. They'll probably wait to move until we get the official ruling from NOSHA in a few months."

"Still, I may not be chief when I come back." Ripley admitted.

"Maybe," Francis said. "But right now that's my problem, not yours. In case, I want you to remain incommunicado as a precaution. You have a completely legit excuse to not be available with the honeymoon and all."

"So you want my fire chief husband to turn off his phone for 2 weeks?" That made Vic excited.

"Pretty much. Touch base if you want with Jennifer and Travis, but you should contact zero other people."

"Okay," Ripley said with a slight amount of doubt. "I'm the one who decided to make this public."

"And you're paying me to control it. One good thing about Fitzpatrick was that she certainly was proactive at making you two look amazing. He has insanely high approval ratings with the public so I don't think the information that you respected Captain Herrera's wishes is going to drop you that much for now." Francis added, "Technically Herrera violated protocol, not you, and both of you were significantly higher ranked than Vic."

"As long as you're sure." Ripley hadn't planned on how much responsibility he'd feel for not staying to deal with the fallout of this.

"Let's all shake hands, and you two get out of here."

"Same to you," Vic said, "Go off duty and go shake or more parts of Jack."

"No comment," Francis said happily. She hugged Vic again.

"Congratulations on the engagement," Vic said, slowly releasing her.

"Yes, congratulations," Ripley shook her hand. "And Smith, the fake wedding ring is locked in the top draw of Peggy's desk in a box labeled - 'batteries to be recycled.' While I'm gone, please, for the love of all things holy, return it to Jared's."

"Good thing Jack didn't ask to borrow it. It's cursed with bad wedding karma." Vic got the last word in before Ripley pulled her out the doors. 

* * *

  
Maya reappeared next to Meredith who was watching Ripley and Vic leave. They linked arms and surveyed their work. They had successfully matched up - with some help from Travis - Maya's ex-boyfriend, his best friend (still missing), Meredith's half sister (also missing), Maya's best friend, their former PR enemy, and their old Captain. Not bad for some Uber mix ups, cell phone sleigh of hand, and alcohol.

"I'm so proud," Maya said.

"Me too," Meredith agreed.

"All three couples together."

"What about Carina? I arranged that one too." Meredith said.

"That was fun." Maya conceded, and Meredith raised her eyebrow. "Okay, she is fun and I had fun tonight . . .but I'm captain now, and I may not have time."

"That's true, though technically you can always make time." Meredith said, "'Captain Bishop.' Did you see yourself there - to be captain?"

"I'd hoped someday eventually, but things worked out differently. That's why Carina and I - well maybe - we'll see each other sometimes for fun." She surveyed the crowd, "I do see Charlotte Dearborne is here."

"You want to date her again too?"

"No. I can't - anyone in the department is off limits," Maya said, "But Carina can. I think they'd be cute together."

They moved toward Charlotte, "I guess it's time to set up some new meet and greets." She indicated Andy, obediently following Sullivan out the door with a jerk of her head. "It will be interesting to see how this plays out." 

"Hey, we got them together," Maya shrugged, "It's not our fault they couldn't figure out how to use a condom."

"So you're cool with that?" Meredith said. "Can you believe Andy thought she could hide her pregnancy in a room full of doctors?"

"Yeah. I'll have extra space in aid car especially since Ben is gone. She'll have good company since Vic will be on aid car too when she's here part-time. I was letting Andy make the roster, and she thought I, her best friend, wouldn't notice she kept assigning herself there or when she stopped going inside burning buildings." 

"You going to let her know that you know?"

"Nah. I let her sweat it out. Then I'll let her know that I know." Maya said and presented Meredith to Charlotte. A few minutes of chit chat and Maya faded away to let Meredith make official intros to Carina.

She packed up her purse, called her Uber, and got a text from Andy. 

_Heading home with SulkiVan. He's moving in 2mrw.Team 2 help 2mrw?_

Herrera's new captain laughed all the way home. 

* * *

  
Finally they made it out the front doors of the hospital and there was the trusty limo waiting outside. For once they sat primly together, not touching.

Mr. Jim dropped them off at the Four Seasons. Once they checked in, they took the elevator to the top floor. Now it was real. Truly real - pretend fake marriage was over. They were going to have an actual wedding night, particularly since that the first hospital wedding had a six weeks post surgery/pre sex wait.

Luke unlocked the penthouse suite with the old school key. When the door swung open, he went for the full bridal carry.

She started to titter and then moved to full on laughter. "Now hubby?"

"Yes, now wife." He carried her over the threshold, dropping the overnight bag by the front closet.

The penthouse suite was first-rate, which Vic should have expected nothing else from Francis by now. It was at least three times the size of her old place and included a jetted tub, a shower for 6 people, its own kitchen and dining room. There was a king size bed that could have probably fit four couples. Judging by how they'd been pawing at each other all day, they'd be using every corner of it.

There was a bottle of champagne cooling on ice, two glasses, and a note from the hotel staff. 'Mazel tov' it said, short and sweet.

"Can you help me out of this dress." He followed her to the bedroom, dropping his uniform on the floor before she had even started removing her shoes. Lucas carefully unzipped the back of her dress and watched her slither out of it till it piled onto the floor. She was wearing a very white and mostly lace thong and bra combination with thigh highs - garters missing. He stepped out of his pants and kicked off his shoes, trying to kiss her.

"Hold that thought," She ducked out his arms, grabbing the dress and running to hang it in the front closet. Then she bent down, wiggling sinuously, taking something out of the overnight bag. He was right behind her, looking like he planned on devouring her.(Which he was.) 

"I think we're supposed to have a toast," she said, dancing backward, her curves shadowed by the dim mood lighting. 

Slightly rueful for the delay, he popped the champagne's cork. "This brings back good memories about a little champagne proposal celebration."

"To a happy marriage." Vic said while he poured.

"For many years" he added. He took a drink out of his.

She made no motion to drink hers.

Lukas brows crinkled suspiciously. He studied her face, the glass and then her face again.

"Vic?" He thought back to the wedding itself and the reception. Had he ever actually seen her drink during any the toasts? She'd been quite active on the dance floor; he did not recall her ever getting her glass refilled or even carrying it. He hasn't thought anything of it because they really didn't return to their seats between the dancing and the circulating.

Now Vic tilted her head up. His blue eyes on her brown eyes, she hesitated to say the thing he wanted to know.

"There's a present," she set a small wrapped box in front of him.

"What is it?" he said.

"It's not part of the all inclusive hotel package."

He picked up the box, snapped the ribbon and opened it. Inside there was another parcel wrapped in numerous layers of tissue paper. He shot her in exacerbated glance.

"If I was going to make it easy. . ."

It took a little work to remove the layers of tissue paper. At last he held four white cylindrical objects. 

4 pregnancy tests, all positive.

"Ours?" That question made sense in context.

"I didn't borrow any from Andy."

"How? When?"

She rolled her eyes."I assume the regular way since you were interested hanging out _in_ me all the time once I got out of hospital. As for when, I can't be completely sure," she said, "It's been 5 months since my last depo shot. I thought maybe that the hospitalization and stuff with messed up my cycle. But after my dress fitting, I figured - 'what the heck might as well check.' And then I double and triple and quadruple checked."

"It's real?"

"It's early. Super, super, early but I thought-" Anything she was going to say was stopped by her husband kissing her fiercely. He was basically welding himself to her, pulling her so tight.

Eventually allowing her to breathe, he started kissing her on the shoulder across the upper chest. Setting her gently on the bed, he stripped off his underwear and climbed on top of her. He immediately started sucking on her neck, unsnapping her bra and slipping off her thong.

"Lucas," she was slightly taken aback by his sudden fervor. He lowered her back to the bed and used his fingers to open her slit. Meanwhile he lavished her nipples with his warm mouth and listened to her moan as he inserted three fingers inside of her briefly before pulling out. "What are you doing?" 

He released her chest and watched her face as he put his fingers in his mouth and sucked them. His eyes were almost black with a tiny rim of blue around them. "Sully said you should taste different." Lucas clarified. "I mean, that pregnant women should taste different."

"He must have meant my mouth," Vic said.

"A second check never hurts this," this time he put his mouth directly on her crotch, started licking her vigorously. Between gasps she realized how ridiculous she had to sound, like he wasn't going to be eating her out repeatedly on their wedding night, pregnant or not.

"When you put it that way, I guess you'll have to taste me as many times as it takes." Luke renewed eating her out with more vigor. It wasn't difficult to get her this wet and she kept flexing her hips against his mouth until she crested screaming. "Verdict?" her voice was definitely sultry.

"Haven't noticed a change yet," he said."It might take time. I guess I have to do something else. Right now." He looked at her hungrily now with some hesitation.

"New plan, hubby," she said. She pushed him down onto the bed and draped herself over him, nothing on but the thigh highs. "I am not a delicate flower. The thing we talked about is like a ball of invisible cells. You don't have to worry about hurting it. I'm not doing woman on top every time for the next 9 months."

"How about tonight? I want to see you."

"I'll let that one slide." Vic gloved his member, starting her ride. He debated mentally whether he was owned more by what he saw she came down the aisle or in moments like this. Most likely now, he acknowledge because they galloped hard to the finish line until they were both full spent.

After they both were satisfied, and a spooned together, Lucas was tracing little patterns over her flat belly. It was marvelous to him that she could possibly be pregnant. Especially after everything they've been through in the past month. He could feel the outline of each of her ribs, she lost so much weight after not being able to eat for about a week, though her conditioned body had almost certainly saved her life.

"What are you thinking?" she asked.

"What are you thinking instead?"

"You know me, so many thoughts. I'm thinking I want to try to keep this between us. No Frankel, no Jennifer, no Travis, no Captain. We didn't do a great job the time before, but people will know soon enough so I don't want to hurry them along."

"When you put it that way, it would be rude not to have learned my lesson. I can keep it quiet."

"I'll trust you on that one. I think the harder thing will be hiding me. As a point of reference, I wonder when Andy'll show too much to hide it."

"I didn't think she looked too different," Luke observed. "How far along?"

"The first hookup was in our guest room so little Herrera-Sullivan could have been conceived at our house." Vic chose not to add in the circumstances since it was better for Lucas not to hit the roof. 

"As was future Ripley." Her husband pointed out.

"Maybe we should invite Francis and Jack over to see what happens next."

He nibbled on her shoulder. "Our house will not be responsible for the Station 19 pregnancy outbreak of 2020."

"Since pregnancy is contagious, that makes Andy patient zero and me the second casualty. Based on her, I think I have four months to keep it hidden on me." 

"You lost a lot of weight between the wedding and being sick, it might be longer."

"True," she said. "I haven't bothered to take in most of my uniforms. Also I won't be around as much and I'll always be on aid car with Andy now. I'm sure Sullivan figured it out because Andy's boobs are huge now. Of course so did everyone else wedding party cuz they're all doctors. I thought Bailey and Grey we're going to shout it when she they saw her getting dressed today."

"Unless Gibson is getting married next week, you have good odds of avoiding any bridesmaid dresses. Francis seems to be the long engagement type, but excellent at planning honeymoons." Lucas licked the crook of her neck. "How about some honeymoon thoughts?"

"I'm also thinking that skiing sounds fun. Maybe snowboarding."

"No skiing," he vetoed. "Or snowboarding."

"How about you let me snowboard on the bunny slope? And maybe celebrate by the fire. I'll wear the snowsuit." She rolled toward him.

"No snowboarding. You do look cute in that snowsuit that I'll take off of you by the fire."

"At a safe distance with a fire extinguisher nearby," Vic checked the bedside clock. "So we need to be out of here at the ungodly hour of six to catch a 8 a.m. flight. Sleep or a second taste?"

"Second taste," Ripley said, his hand marching down her thigh and mouth back on hers. He had his second and third taste until they fell asleep together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's where it ends, folks. Vicley having a baby, Sandy back together w/pregnancy, Dean with Maggie, Jack finally found someone to marry, Maya living her dream as Captain, Ben moved to Medic One and guest appearances, Owen still not sure who he's dating, Ryan living offscreen, and Travis with Levi. Also Pruitt still dead.
> 
> That is the end of fake Season 3. I have a whole lot of stuff planned for fake Season 4, so hit comment to tell me why you want this to keep going.

**Author's Note:**

> In the midst of this very serious piece, please note the little homages to past dearly departed Grey's anatomy characters. Also, any guesses on who the police officer might be?


End file.
